


Welcome to Miami

by LizaCameron



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-28
Updated: 2004-10-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaCameron/pseuds/LizaCameron
Summary: A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails...J/D.





	1. Welcome to Miami

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

"Where ya going?" Josh asked as he caught up with Donna and matched her stride. 

"Where does it look like I'm going?"  Donna didn't hide her sigh as she replied.  She also didn't slow down or look at him.  

"Back to the room to get the numbers for the thing." 

"Wrong." 

"Donna, I need the numbers for the thing."  There was a hint of a whine buried somewhere in his tone. 

"That's too bad... because as I told you earlier, the numbers will not be ready until Friday. I don't possess black magic... I can't just will the DOL to release numbers that don't yet exist, simply because you want them." 

"I thought you could do anything."  She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smirking.  She didn't reward him with a response. 

They took several long strides in silence before he tried another tack to get her to pay attention to him.  "I'm bored."  

"You're not bored."  Donna didn't skip a beat in the new conversation. 

"I am." 

"No, you think you're bored, but you're not." 

"I know when I'm bored and I'm telling you I'm bored." 

"Where's Toby?  Go find Toby. You can entertain one another." 

"He's working.  Besides, it's your job to entertain me." 

She slowed enough to shoot a glare his direction. "It's my job to entertain you?  I don't remember seeing that in any job description."  She took an exasperated breath. "I left you with the other thing.  Why aren't you working on the other thing?" 

"The other thing is done and I have nothing else to do. I've done all the preparations for the meetings tomorrow, you won't get me the DOL numbers and I can't really work on anything not having to do with the trip because we're stuck in the middle of nowhere."  

She ignored his dig about the numbers and his fib about not having anything to work on.  He could work on anything from pretty much anywhere, especially at a hotel that had high-speed internet and fax machines in every room, but she let it slide.  Because frankly, she wasn't stupid enough to make a case in which, if she won the argument, her prize would be working all night.  And she had no intention of working tonight. "We're not in the middle of nowhere." 

"It feels like the middle of nowhere." 

"It's Miami, Josh." 

"Yes."  He nodded once in resignation. 

"Miami feels like the middle of nowhere?  We're surrounded by big, glaring... in fact, bright, gaudy signs of civilization... everywhere." 

"Hmmm." 

"We are at the Loews Miami Beach... a beautiful, luxurious hotel which is located, shockingly, right on the beach.  Miami, Josh.  It's one of the most colorful, exciting cities that exist on the planet, so it is impossible to be bored." 

"Yet, amazingly I am." 

"Well, I'm not and now we're at the pool." 

"So?" 

"So? So you said I could have the night off."  Donna gazed longingly at the inviting blue water. It was absolutely gorgeous.  She looked more closely; there were actually three giant palm trees etched into the bottom of the pool.  Cool.  The influence of the area's art deco architecture was evident in the design of the pool; it was in a funky u-shape with palm trees placed strategically around it.  Out behind the hotel, there was a fantastic view of an expansive white sandy beach and beyond that, the ocean.  Just an hour.  She sighed.  She just wanted to relax for an hour.  Was that too much to ask? 

"No, I didn't." 

Apparently it was too much to ask.  "No... you didn't. You're right; you never give me time off.  What was I thinking?  It was the President.  The President, who outranks you in case you forgot, said I could have the night off.  In fact he said we could all have the night off." 

"Except for Toby."  He ignored her terse tone. 

"Except for Toby," Donna agreed tiredly.  "But luckily I'm not Toby.  I don't have to lock myself in my room and finish writing the President's address for tomorrow.  In any case, the President of the United States said to take the night off and it's..."  She checked her watch. "It's 5 p.m. and I want to relax for once."  She set her bag on a lounge chair on the deck as one of the hotel employees scurried over with towels.  She thanked him and then looked back to the pool; she could almost feel it, the way the cool water would caress her skin and envelope her.  The hell with him, she was going to get in. "I'm going to take a swim and get some sun." 

"The sun isn't even out." 

Donna checked the sky and saw the scattered cloud cover that was currently obscuring the sun.  "It will be back.  I want an hour of peace and quiet.  Can I have that, Josh?  Please."  Her voice was pointed; it wasn't really a request. 

"Who's stopping you?" 

"You are."  She waved her hand at him.  "You're bothering me." 

"Because I'm bored?" 

"Yes." 

"I am, you know." 

"Fine.  I believe you're bored.  Go be bored elsewhere." 

"I like being bored with you."  He grinned at her.  With dimples. 

Shaking her head, she refused to be taken in by his dimples.  Usually, they could convince her of anything.  But right now, she wasn't going to let them sway her from her purpose. She was going to sit by the pool and relax if it killed her.   "In about two seconds I'm going to take off this cover-up."  She motioned to the sleeveless, orange, hooded terrycloth jumper that fell to several inches above her knees.  "And I'm going to be standing here in my bikini.  While you are going to be standing there in a suit, necktie, and sensible shoes... probably with a perverted look on your face.  Are you comfortable with that?" 

A suggestive smirk crossed Josh's face and he arched his brow at her in answer. He appeared completely undaunted by her attitude or her threat to disrobe in front of him. 

Shrugging, she kicked off her flip-flops, unzipped her jumper, and let it fall to the floor, her eyes defiantly never leaving his.  If he wasn't going to flinch, neither would she.  It didn't bother her to stand in front of her boss in a bikini.  Well, mostly it didn't bother her.  If she didn't think about what she was doing, whom she was standing in front of, or what she was wearing, she was completely fine with it.  But that level of nonchalance was hard to accomplish while staring into his eyes. Eyes that grew darker and larger the second she disrobed.  What did that mean? 

Josh felt the air whoosh out of him as he found himself in front of one almost naked Donnatella Moss.   Gulping, he couldn't stop his eyes from leaving hers and running down her body. Her dark red halter bikini contrasted sharply with her pale alabaster skin.  Light freckles danced across her arms and chest and over the swell of her breasts.  The bikini handsomely accented every curve and plane of her slender figure.  She was breathtaking and he was without speech.  

She watched his wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression, and it would have been a lie to pretend she wasn't pleased by his reaction.  All women should have a man look at them the way Josh was staring at her right now.  Of course it would be better if the man staring was a lover or somebody, anybody, with a romantic interest in her rather than her completely unaffected boss.  Although, quite frankly, he didn't appear to be all that unaffected at the current moment; she was seriously beginning to worry that his eyes might pop all the way out of his head if he didn't blink soon.  However, he was still her boss... and a boss who, at that, had been quite cranky lately.  Maybe from now on she should strip down to her skivvies in the office every time he took an attitude with her, all current indicators pointing to that being an effective way to shut him up.  

"Josh!"  She snapped her fingers in front of his face, trying to get his attention.  From the angle of his gaze, she was pretty sure he was staring at her stomach.  She felt herself involuntarily breathe in, sucking her tummy as flat as it would go.  Not that she needed to worry. 

"Huh?"  He grunted but didn't really come out of his daze.  Donna had an innie belly button.  Isn't that something he should have known about her before now?  She also had a birthmark that looked like... well, an inkblot, on her right hip.  Maybe it resembled a monarch butterfly, if only he could inspect it more closely... 

"Earth to Josh."  Now she waved her hand directly in front of his eyes. 

"What?" 

"Still bored?" 

"Um...uh...I..."  He stuttered, trying to form a coherent thought. 

"Never mind."  She reached over and lifted his chin so his eyes met hers. "What will it take for you not to be bored anymore and leave me alone?" 

He stared at her blankly.  How, in all honesty, could he claim to be bored when she was standing in front of him in that little red bikini?  With that picture burned into his brain, he'd never be bored again. 

"CJ said something about getting a group together for dinner.  I heard her talking to the concierge about Cuban food.  If I get us in on that, will you give me two hours?" 

Wordlessly, he nodded his assent.  

She dug through her bag for her cell phone. Flipping it open, she dialed as she stared at Josh, who still couldn't manage to get the dumbfounded expression off of his face.  No wonder the guy always lost at poker.  She stopped mid-dial and looked at him pointedly. "And you promise no work." 

"What?!"  That brought him out of his bikini-induced shock. 

"No work, no talking about work, no asking me to work, no work tonight." 

"What if there's an international incident that needs my immediate attention?"  He baited. 

"Okay, fine. Unless there's a crisis that only the great Josh Lyman can solve, no work.  I mean it Josh, no work until tomorrow morning at 8am." 

He took one more look at her bare arms and legs and realized there was no way he was going to be able to concentrate on work again, probably ever, so it was mostly likely a promise he could keep.  "Sure."  His voice was slightly husky.  

"Hey, CJ.  What time are the reservations for?"  Donna paused as CJ spoke.  "Great, we'll meet you in the lobby then.  Thanks, bye." She snapped the phone closed and began reciting. "Eight o'clock, we're meeting in the lobby at 7:30, apparently we can walk to the restaurant, it's only a few blocks away.  I'm in room 327. Stop by about 7:15 so I can inspect what you're wearing before we meet everybody." 

"You already had plans?" 

"Yup." 

"And I was included in those plans?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?" 

"It's a mystery.  Now keep your end of the bargain?" Her eyes pleaded with him. 

"No work?" He asked softly. 

"And?" 

"Peace and quiet?" 

"Yes," she said and pointed back towards the hotel.  

He wasn't sure why she was so hostile.  But she'd acted huffy ever since he'd asked her for the meeting notes in the office that morning.  Of course, he already had the meeting notes, as she'd handed them directly to him ten minutes prior to his asking.  And she claimed that he had used a "snappish" tone with her.  Ridiculous. 

"Okay.  I'll see you at quarter past seven."  He stood a moment longer, an unexplained desire not to leave her rising in him.  It was probably some protective instinct, triggered by the shock of seeing her that exposed.  He forced his legs to move, one foot in front of the other, and exited the pool area. 

*** 

Once back in his room, Josh, feeling slightly sulky, pondered a night off from work. Maybe a night of no work was exactly what they needed. Because things were off between them and had been for awhile.  Deep down he knew it was probably his fault, or at least she thought it was his fault... but how to fix it?  He had no idea.  One thing he knew for sure was that the way to fix it probably wasn't picturing her in that bikini.  That was not the way to restore balance and harmony to their relationship.  However, it was the one thing he couldn't stop doing.  

As he laid on the bed flipping through the channels on the TV, he pictured the way the deep red contrasted with her milky white skin.  As he checked his e-mail on his laptop, he thought about the pale expanse of her exposed stomach and how the bikini had hit her hip in exactly the right place in order to accentuate and lengthen her legs.  As he took a shower, he fantasized about untying the knot of the halter at the back of her neck and letting the fabric fall away... NO.  He couldn't think that way about his assistant.  His Donna... well, Donna, because realistically she wasn't his. Especially lately.  Maybe that was part of the answer to why they'd been the way they'd been lately.  He'd have to ponder that. 

Once out of the shower, he knew he needed to get his mind off of mostly-naked Donna.  That was it-- distraction. Every time he thought of her in the red bikini, he just needed to think of something else.  He glanced at the TV; it was on a commercial for some bottled passion fruit drink.  Okay, next time Donna in her red bikini appeared in his minds-eye, he would think of passion fruit drink in a bottle.  He quickly realized that wouldn't work.  First off, the word passion.  That did little to take his mind off of a scantily clad Donna. Second, the image in the commercial of fruit splashing down a waterfall.  Again, he could easily picture Donna standing under the falling water in her bikini.  What in the hell was passion fruit, anyway?  Could Madison Avenue just make up fruits in order to torture him these days?  

He turned the channel.  Pennzoil.  A Pennzoil commercial. Perfect. Nothing sexy about that.  He'd think of Pennzoil the next time he thought of Donna.  He'd try it right now.  Hmm... nope.  Motor oil made him think of baby oil, which made him think of suntan lotion, which, of course, led to him picturing himself rubbing suntan lotion all over Donna's red-bikini-clad body as she lay by the pool.  That wouldn't work.  

Next.  A Pampers commercial. Perfect.  Dirty diapers. They were smelly and full of... stuff that goes in dirty diapers.  That would get his mind off of it.  Except the commercial wasn't full of dirty diapers, instead it was full of adorable babies crawling around.  And babies made him think of how you make babies, which just had Josh picturing himself tearing off Donna's bikini with his teeth.  He shook his head, trying to rid the new image from his mind.  This was his assistant!  He couldn't think of her like that.  Could he?  No.  He shook his head even harder. It was wrong.  Not that it was the first time he'd thought of her like that, or the second, or the... 

Sighing, he opened the phone book that he found in the desk drawer.  It fell open to a map of the United States.  State capitals.  He'd memorized them in school and they'd always stuck with him.  When Donna in the little red bikini appeared, he'd just start reciting state capitals in his head.  It wasn't a perfectly devised diversion, but it would have to do.  Besides, state capitals reminded him of his junior high school geography teacher, Mrs. Pembroke, and there was definitely nothing sexy or Donna-like about her... or the three large moles on her face.  Yes, that would work.  Montgomery, Juneau, Phoenix... 

*** 

By seven o'clock, he was knocking on her hotel room door. Charleston, Madison, Cheyenne. He'd run through all fifty capitals in alphabetical order by state in the time it took to ride from his room on the 14th floor to her room on the 4th. 

"You're early," she greeted as she opened the door to him. 

"You're dressed.  So obviously you expected me early."  His eyes traveled over her.  At least it wasn't the bikini or red.  However, she was wearing a short dress made of some unidentifiable yet flimsy fabric, and platform slides that made her legs look about a mile long.  Chewing on the side of his mouth, he wondered how the razor thin straps that crossed her shoulders were able to keep the casual, feathery-blue fabric in place.  Not that there was much to the dress.  As he took her in, he realized that it was no good. Before the night was out, he was going to have to up the stakes, maybe state capitals by population size. Clearing his throat, he managed, "You look... nice.  How do I look?" 

"You're wearing what I put in your suitcase, so it will do."  The truth was, he looked great. Not that she would admit it under present circumstances.  She glanced down at his short-sleeved white linen button-down shirt and khaki pants.  Black Nike flip-flops completed the look.  He'd always refused to wear the froofy man-sandals that Sam used to sport, but these actually worked just fine. 

"Let's go, I need a drink."  Because even if he was the picture of civility and charm right now, he'd probably resume being an ass at any moment.  Alcohol was a must. 

"Donna." He put his hand on her arm and met her eye. She felt her skin tingle under his touch. "If I buy you dinner and..."  He paused, taking a deep breath, "a drink, will you forgive me for whatever it is that I did?"  

She tried to ignore the involuntary flip-flop her stomach did at his tone and boyish demeanor.  Forgive him for whatever he'd done?  He didn't know what he'd done?  Come to think of it, did she?  That was the problem. It wasn't just one thing.   Ever since Zoey's kidnapping, something had changed. Something that was almost imperceptible yet made a tangible difference in the way they related to one another.  It was almost like some new, dark guiding force had taken over the reigns of their relationship. While he had snapped at her that morning, the truth was that she wasn't really upset about any one specific thing.  Josh had been dismissive and indifferent with her off and on for months, and she was sick of it.  One moment he was fine, like old times, and the next he was ordering her around with no consideration for her feelings.  But if he wanted to buy her dinner and a drink, she would meet him halfway.  "Drinks," she bargained several seconds later. 

"What?" 

"I'll forgive you if you buy me drinks, plural." 

"That can be arranged."  

She rewarded him with a genuine smile and he met it with one of his patented smirks, but he quickly realized that in his current unsettled state, he was no match for her.  Wasn't this a lesson he had learned as a child?  Never look directly into the sun.  He tugged on the collar of his lightweight shirt.  Why was it so very warm in her hotel room; didn't they believe in air conditioning in Florida? He shook his head to clear it and without thinking, muttered, "Topeka, Frankfort, Baton Rouge."  

"What?" 

"Huh?  Oh, nothing... let's go."  He put his hand on her shoulder and gently pointed her towards the door.  


	2. Welcome to Miami 2

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

"CJ!  Hey!" 

"Danny."  CJ visibly stiffened, but felt her heart skip a beat as she watched him approach. She silently cursed her body's betrayal, as if issuing to it a silent warning not to give any outward suggestion that she experienced any discomfiture in his presence.  Furtively, she glanced around, but she was standing alone in the hotel lobby waiting for the others and there was no escape.  

"What's going on?"  He paused to take in her appearance; she was dressed for dinner in black cropped pants and a berry-colored silk tank top.  "You look terrific." 

"Thanks," she replied quickly, looking around. When she didn't spot anyone she knew, she turned back towards him and forced a bright smile. "How are you?  I didn't get a chance to talk to you on the plane." 

"Yes, I was going to tackle you the thirteenth time you passed me without stopping, but didn't think that was a wise move while on Air Force One." 

Apparently, he'd noticed that she'd been avoiding him.  However, that shouldn't have been a surprise. He was, by nature, observant, and she had been less than subtle. "We were working the whole trip down.  What are you working on?  Why are you with us?"  She schooled her expression into one of polite interest. 

"Bill Gates.  Anti-trust.  I'm getting the relationship with the administration... I've got ten minutes with the President on the way back..." He crinkled his brow. "You know this, right?" 

"Ah, right."  CJ nodded as if she were just remembering why he had been credentialed to accompany them to the tech conference.  She actually hadn't forgotten, but was trying to keep the encounter to banal small talk.  The fact he was going to be on the trip had given her pause more than once in the last few days. 

"So what are you doing now?"  Danny asked eagerly. 

"Um..."  

Just then they noticed Josh and Donna as they wound their way across the lobby from the elevator.  Josh had his hand on the small of Donna's back as they walked.  Donna realized it had been a long time since he'd done that.  She missed it.  She wasn't sure what had gotten into him this evening, but she decided that she might as well go with the flow and enjoy it while it lasted. 

"Danny!"  Josh announced jovially as they approached; he reached out and shook the other man's hand.  "Long time, no see. I heard you were on the plane, but I didn't get up to the press cabin.  Are you joining us for dinner?" 

"Hey." Danny smiled at Josh and then at Donna.  "Hi, Donna. Well... I'd-" 

"No, we only have reservations for six," CJ interjected. "Sorry." 

"But there are only four of us standing here," Josh answered back obliviously. 

"We're expecting Carol, Charlie and Will," she countered. 

"What's Will doing on the trip again?"  Donna looked curiously at Josh. 

"Russell wants a voice in the meetings tomorrow," Josh answered and Donna nodded in response. 

"Why aren't you guys working?"  Danny changed the subject. 

"Night off. We weren't even going to come in until the morning for the meetings and the President's address, but then the President and First Lady decided to come tonight in order to have a private dinner with some friends, so here we are with a free night for once." 

"Oh, well, good for you. You guys deserve it.  I don't want to intrude, so I'll see you guys around."  

"Don't be ridiculous."  Josh turned to CJ.  "Surely we can change the reservation?"  He motioned to a desk which was just a few feet away.  "Donna said you made it through the concierge?" 

Before CJ knew what was happening, Josh was at the desk. 

"Excuse me."  The diminutive man behind the desk looked up and gave him a slightly disdainful stare. 

"My friend made a dinner reservation earlier for..."  He looked back for help. 

CJ sighed heavily before replying, "Momba."  Would she go to jail if she pushed Josh into oncoming traffic?  Yes?  Well, she might just settle for reaching over and slugging him.  The last thing she wanted was to spend the evening with Danny.  Well... maybe that wasn't exactly the truth. She liked Danny. She could admit it. Besides, who wouldn't like Danny?  And maybe she'd always liked him a little bit too much, and perhaps she'd spent a lot of time over the last year trying not to think about him, especially now that she was with... what was his name? Ben!  Right, now that she was sort of seeing Ben.  And since Danny had disappeared on her right after the Shareef story broke, it had become easier and easier not to think of him, but she knew that being in his presence, it would become all but impossible. 

"Momba.  Would it be possible to call the restaurant and change the reservation from 6 to 7?"  As Josh inquired, Donna stared at him as if he'd just sprung, full-bodied, from the womb of an alien.  He never dealt with reservations, plans or logistics; that was her job. 

"Hmmm... I didn't make the reservation for your friend, and that is a very hot restaurant, so..."  Just then he finally looked all the way up and, spotting CJ, almost started to combust.  "Are you?  You are, aren't you?"  He scurried around the desk.  "I'm such a big fan." 

CJ looked embarrassed. "Oh... um... thanks." 

"So could you change the reservation?"  Josh interjected as Carol, Will and Charlie joined the assembled group. 

"For Ms. Cregg?"  He asked excitedly.  

Josh nodded and the guy practically bounced off the walls.  "No problem.  I'll have them change the reservation and make sure you get the VIP treatment." 

"That won't be necessary."  Josh started shaking his head and took out his wallet in order to tip the guy. 

"Nonsense.  Anything for Ms. Cregg!"  The concierge gushed and brushed off the bill Josh was trying to thrust in his hand. 

Danny leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I think you have a fan." 

"Yeah, I'm a regular Liza Minnelli," she retorted coolly, before adding, "I have many fans."  

"Yes you do.  I'm thinking if you play your cards right, you might get lucky tonight." 

"I think you have a better chance of getting lucky than I do.  I'm pretty sure he's playing for the other team." 

"Who said anything about you getting lucky with him?"  Danny asked with a quirked brow before catching up to walk with Charlie, Will and Josh, as they started making their way to the entrance of the hotel. 

Carol sidled up to CJ. "What'd he say?"  She asked curiously as the three women started following the guys at a safe distance. 

"Oh... what?"  CJ looked at her with what she hoped was a blank expression.  "Nothing." 

"I think he's hitting on you," Donna noted. 

"Who?  The concierge?"  CJ asked incredulously. What was wrong with them? Couldn't they see that her fan behind the desk was clearly gay? 

"No!"  Donna emitted a sharp giggle.  "Danny, but you always did flirt with him, didn't you?"  

"I did not!"  CJ lied through her teeth.  As far as she was aware, none of them knew about all the kissing that used to go on behind closed doors.  That, of course, didn't include the very public time at Christmas in the press room, but that was a hello kiss. Hello kisses didn't count. 

Carol answered, "Yes, you did.  Or at least he flirted with you... shamelessly."  She glanced over at her thoughtfully. "Too bad you're with Ben now.  It's really the only thing standing in your way since he isn't really on the White House beat anymore. Danny being here is an aberration because of the special feature.  Mostly he's tied up with his book these days." 

"Hmm."  CJ hadn't thought of it in those terms.  He wasn't on the White House beat anymore.  But why had he stopped coming around?  She had assumed he'd lost interest in her long ago.  Maybe not.  Of course, she'd never bothered to call him herself.  Wait.  Book?!  What?  "Book?" 

"Yeah. Book," Carol replied while shooting a sideways inquisitive glance at CJ.  "You really haven't talked to him in the last nine months, have you?"  CJ didn't respond. 

Donna had been staring ahead at the guys as they walked and at the back of one in particular. Now she forced her attention back to CJ. "He sure wanted to come to dinner with us." 

"Invited himself.  Typical." 

"Josh invited him."  Donna defended Danny. 

"Yes, I'll have to think of a way to thank Josh properly later."  CJ didn't sound appreciative. 

"It won't be that bad, CJ.  We all, including you, like Danny," Donna reasoned, and at the same time, wondered why CJ seemed so angry at him.  She sensed that CJ didn't want to talk about it, but she made a mental note to ask her about it later.  

Carol piped up, "And you don't have to worry, boss.  I'll stick to you to glue.  Ben won't have anything to worry about if Danny has ideas." 

"Great."  CJ tried to force the automatic grimace that appeared on her face at Carol's pronouncement into a smile.  That sounded anything but great.  Suddenly, she regretted inviting any of these people to dinner in the first place. 

*** 

When the ladies caught up to the guys, they were already at the restaurant talking to the host. 

Josh turned to them as they approached with a rueful grin.  "The good news is that Ferdinand-- apparently that's your admirer's name--" he glanced at CJ, "did call to change our reservations.  But the bad news is that they don't have a larger table for us unless we want to wait two hours." 

He looked around at everyone. "But they said we could squeeze into the booth for six if we wanted.  Sound good?" 

Donna smiled at him and before CJ could object, answered for everybody. "Sounds good.  Let's do it."  

The restaurant was a cacophony of riotous colors and loud raucous music; a live band was already in full swing near the bar. They were led to a table on the far side of the restaurant which, thankfully, was far away enough from the band so that they could carry on a conversation.  When they got to the sort-of circular-shaped booth that was tucked into a corner, they all stared at it for a moment, realizing that it was indeed going to be a tight fit. After several seconds Donna gamely stepped up to slide in and around to the back.  Of course, the second she moved, Josh was right there, securing the spot next to her with noticeable haste.  

Charlie took the spot next to Josh, while Danny scooted in on the other side of Donna.  CJ was about to follow him in when Carol stopped her with a hand on her arm. 

"CJ, why don't you let me sit next to Danny?  I'd love to catch up with him."  As she moved past CJ into the booth and next to Danny, she whispered to CJ, "You can thank me later." 

CJ rolled her eyes at Carol, but she was also a bit surprised by the pang of disappointment that hit her as she watched Carol slide past her.  She took a place next to Carol and Will slid into the last seat on the end next to her.  Pretty much everyone at the table fidgeted, trying to get comfortable in the cramped quarters of the booth.  

Donna felt herself sink into and mold against the side of Josh's body.  Her boss's body, she reminded herself as she realized that she was already enjoying the warmth of being pressed up tight against him a little too much.  Especially since they were in the presence of the White House Press Secretary and the President's body man, as well as a renowned Washington Post reporter.  One couldn't get carried away in present company; not that she ever really let herself get carried away.  But then she felt him shifting and suddenly his arm was behind her shoulders, resting on the back of the booth. 

"Just making room.  Is that okay?"  He asked tentatively. 

She looked around the table; no one seemed to notice or care.  She made eye contact with him and nodded.  His forearm was resting carelessly against her bare shoulder.  She felt light-headed at the simple closeness of it, and they hadn't even had a drink yet. 

Josh was also not oblivious to their forced proximity.  It started him thinking once again... "Phoenix."  The largest of all the state capitals; thankfully, this task required concentration.  Phoenix, Indianapolis... Austin.  She was looking at him funnily... did he just say that out loud? 

"Huh?" Donna knit her eyebrows at him 

"Nothing," he said quickly, picking up a menu with his free left hand and pretending to scan it. 

"Okay." But her voice said that she was clearly still curious.  She looked back up at him.  "Before..." 

"What?"  He crinkled his forehead at her. 

"Before, at the hotel.  Why didn't you make me talk to the concierge to change the reservation?  I didn't even know you were capable of changing a reservation." 

With the hand that was draped around her, he gave her exposed upper arm a playful pinch. 

"Hey! What's that for?"  She reached up and rubbed her arm where he'd pinched her.  It wasn't that the pinch hurt; on the contrary, her skin tingled where he'd touched her.  Why was she tingling?  She knew for certain she shouldn't be tingling. 

"For saying that I'm not capable of making a dinner reservation.  I can make a dinner reservation." 

"Well, I see that now.  Which begs the question, if you can do it, why have you never done it before?  And why choose tonight to display this particular ability?" 

"I never do it, because I have you.  And I did it tonight because you're off the clock.  The no-work rule, remember?  You should, it was your rule." 

"I remember.  I just can't believe that you remembered, or that you're following the rule." 

"Oh, I'm following the rule." He grinned at her. "You have until 8am tomorrow morning before you turn back into a pumpkin."  He took notice of the sneer that was beginning to curl her lip. "Or you have until 8am tomorrow morning before you turn back into my assistant."  Deciding that was acceptable, she stopped mid-sneer. 

The loud music of the restaurant and the random chatter of the others at the table made their conversation relatively private.  CJ, however, started eyeing them suspiciously.  She asked no one in particular, "What are the two of them talking about?" 

Charlie didn't look up from his menu.  "Donna's a pumpkin and Josh is apparently a dim-bulb who can't do anything as simple as make a dinner reservation on his own." 

Both Donna and Josh turned to glare at Charlie, but he didn't even glance up from his menu.  Thankfully, just then the waiter appeared, introduced himself as Carlos, and asked for their drink order. 

Carol started. "I'll have a mojito." 

"What's that?"  Donna inquired. 

"A mojito is made from spiced rum, fresh mint, fresh limes, raw sugar and club soda," Charlie recited from memory. 

"Is it good?"  Donna asked him. 

"I wouldn't know.  I've never had one.  I'm pretty much just a beer guy."  He shrugged. 

"Then how did you know what was in one?"  

"I know things."  

"I have them all the time when we go out at home," Carol interjected. "And they're fabulous.  But strong." 

"Oh, I don't get to go out much when we're at home."  She turned to give Josh a pointed glare. 

He repressed his desire to flinch at the look she was giving him.  It was especially potent since it was at such close range.  "Buying you dinner and multiple drinks," he muttered as a reminder. 

Donna looked at Carlos. "I'll have one, too. And keep 'em coming." 

"Me, too," CJ concurred. 

Danny looked around Carol at CJ.  "Sure, why not.  I'll have one, too."  The rest of the guys all ordered beer.  

Josh nudged Donna with the arm that was carelessly draped over her shoulders. "Keep 'em coming?" 

"Yup." 

"Because I'm buying or because it's just that kind of night."  

She thought for a second before smiling slyly. "Little of both." 


	3. Welcome to Miami 3

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

After their drinks were delivered, Josh surveyed their surroundings from his position in the booth.  "This place is really..." 

"Loud? Bright? Overdone?"  Donna challenged, expecting a peevish response. 

"I was going to say great, Donna. I feel like I'm in Havana." 

Donna was satisfied by his response and he could feel her relax next to him once again, but Charlie snorted. 

Josh turned to him.  "What?" 

"You feel like you're in Havana?" 

"Sure.  Why not? Don't you?" 

"I've never been to Havana, so I don't know what it would feel like to be in Havana," Charlie retorted. "Have you been to Havana?" 

"Since travel has been prohibited to Cuba the majority of my life, I have not been there either, but I see things. I know things," Josh replied confidently. 

"Like what?"  Donna asked, but this time her voice held amusement. 

"Hmm... well, I saw Havana, starring Robert Redford," he joked and she rewarded him with a nudge in the ribs and a smile. 

"And what did you learn from that experience?"  Donna asked. 

"That Lena Olin is really hot."  This time Donna's elbow to the rib was more of a jab than a nudge.  This, for some reason, pleased Josh immensely. 

Carol piped up, "I just rented Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and it was really good.  Not as good as the original, but still.  Patrick Swayze even makes a..."  She trailed off when she realized the entire table had turned to stare at her with bemused expressions. "Is that not something I should have admitted?" 

Danny gave her a friendly pat on the knee. "That's all right, Carol.  They just don't appreciate the art that is the Patrick Swayze oeuvre."  

"You like Patrick Swayze?" Carol beamed at him with her highest voltage smile. 

Danny, startled by her flirtatious tone and overly excited manner, quickly yanked his hand back. The pat on her knee had meant to be reassuring, not suggestive.  "Well," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I guess I did get a chuckle or two from To Wong Foo..." 

"To really know a place and a people, you have to experience it."  Charlie steered them back to the topic of Cuba. 

Josh sighed. He had just been about to make a joke about Danny and dressing in drag, which seemed like a much more fun topic of conversation that was sure to get a lot of laughs from the table, especially from Donna, but he replied to Charlie instead. "You support lifting the travel and trade embargos?" 

"Of course. Don't you?" 

Josh looked nervously down at Donna to see if she considered this trespassing on the no-work agreement, but she was just eyeing him curiously. "Yes, sure, as soon as Castro is out of power." 

Charlie was about to reply, but was beat to the punch by Donna.  "The Cold War is over.  There is no threat of the Soviet Union using Cuba to launch attacks on the U.S. anymore. Besides, these sanctions haven't worked for forty years.  They've only managed to keep badly-needed food and medicine away from innocent people. And Castro has outlasted ten U.S. Presidents." 

Josh nodded at her and smiled. "Yes, actually, I agree with everything you said.  But it's a political problem.  Unfortunately for each of those Presidents, including ours, the reality is that Florida has 27 electoral votes and a populace with very specific ideas about Castro and how to handle Cuba."  

"You guys were never going to win Florida, anyway," Will chimed in to the conversation. 

"I love the tiles in this place. They're gorgeous," CJ interjected as she turned to inspect the wall behind her, which was a mosaic in different shades of yellow.  The movement effectively pushed her into Will's lap.  He yelped and she whipped back around.  "Sorry, sorry, guess there's no room to actually move in this booth."  She leaned forward so she could look pointedly at Danny, but unfazed, he just smiled brightly back at her. 

"CJ, don't you have an opinion on Cuba?" Charlie asked, trying to drag her into the conversation. 

"My opinion is that this is the first night any of us have had off and I want to eat, I want to drink," she heavily emphasized the word drink while lifting her mojito, "and I want to be merry.  That is my opinion.  So frankly, I'd rather talk about the downward spiral of Patrick Swayze's career post- _Ghost_ than Castro."  Apparently, Donna wasn't the only one in need of a break. 

"All right." Charlie put his hands up. "No more politics. But I warn you, I'm at a severe disadvantage when it comes to discussing anything Swayze. Dirty Dancing wasn't exactly required viewing in my neighborhood." 

Either oblivious or blinded by her Patrick Swayze love, Carol started gushing. "Oh, you should rent it.  CJ, you wouldn't believe how old he's starting to look now, especially if you watch the movie as a double feature with the original, like I did.  I was stunned..."  

"How is it?"  Josh asked Donna as she stirred her drink, deciding to blessedly ignore the Patrick Swayze conversation. 

"Excellent," Donna replied after taking a long sip from the straw.  "Wanna try?" 

"Nah."  Picking his beer bottle up off the table, he gently clinked it against the top of her glass.  "I'll stick to what I know." 

"And what do you know?"  Her question was filled with amusement as she stretched her long legs out in front of her and felt the rustle of Josh's khakis, and the warmth of his leg through the material, against her mostly bare leg.  It wasn't an unpleasant sensation. 

Josh shifted his body, but didn't move his leg as he felt her rub against his side, ankle to thigh.  Why hadn't he worn shorts?  As it was, the diversion almost proved too much, but his bantering skills were so second-nature that they were pretty much able to operate on their own. "For one, I know exactly how many beers I can have before I've had one too many." 

"No, you don't." 

"Yes, I do." 

"No, I know how many beers you can have before you have one too many." 

He wagged his eyebrows at her.  "Same difference.  You're sitting right here, monitoring what I drink, aren't you?" 

"Not tonight." She swirled her drink around, watching the ice, limes and mint swirl through the glass. 

"Not tonight?  What do you mean by 'not tonight'?" 

She glanced up at him.  "By ‘not tonight', I mean I have no intention on monitoring your alcohol intake tonight.  Drink up!  You're a free man, no curfew.  Have a ball." 

Josh just stared at her a moment before setting his beer bottle down.  "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this arrangement." 

"I know I'm not comfortable with that arrangement," Charlie added from Josh's left.  "If Donna isn't going to be watching what you drink, then I'm really gonna be out of here early.  I'm too young to be subjected to such a pitiful display.  Again." 

"What display are you talking about?" Josh quizzed with a scowl. 

"Grown men in tuxedos... snow?" 

"Pitiful display?!"  Josh's face reddened and Donna squirmed next to him while trying to suppress a grin.  "You put on a much more pitiful display than I did that night and had more to drink," Josh responded and then looked around for support. "Danny?" 

"Hmm?"  Upon hearing his name, Danny came to attention, jumping at the opportunity to extricate himself from the endless conversation that Carol had cornered him into on the many fine, underrated qualities of _Road House_. 

"The night of the Inauguration, Charlie put on a much more pitiful display than I did, correct?" 

"Um... no."  Danny shook his head assuredly.  "Sorry, buddy." 

"What!?"  Josh yelped indignantly and glared past Donna at Danny. "Traitor... and after I invited you to dinner."  He turned his gaze to the end of the table.  "Will?" 

"On this I have no opinion."  Will's response was immediate. 

"Of course you do, who was it?" Josh prodded. 

"I have no opinion," he repeated.  "If you want to go back and talk about Cuba, I'll offer an opinion, but on this, I have none." 

Charlie was shaking his head.  "That's ridiculous.  You have to have an opinion.  Tell Josh that he was wasted and pitiful and I was sober." 

"Actually, I was going to say you, because of the professing your love for Zoey thing.  And not wearing your coat out of love for Zo..." Charlie glared across the table and Will trailed off into silence before defending, "you asked.  Although, Josh with the constant chatter about good cop/bad cop and Donna was a close second." Now both Josh and Charlie glared at him.  Will looked around for help. "See, this is why I have a hard and fast rule about not offering an opinion on subjects such as this." 

"That's okay, Will." Donna nodded sympathetically at him. "I don't know why they aren't asking me. I'm the one who couldn't leave her house by the front door for six months for fear of running into my neighbors after they were awoken by the drunken antics on my street.  AND I'm the one who had to wedge myself onto some tipsy guy's lap in that cab - a vehicle that was, frankly, in violation of any number of safe occupancy codes..." 

"Hey.  You were on my lap." Josh's voice came perilously close to a whine. Donna reassured him with a very friendly pat on his thigh and then let her hand just innocently rest there.  She felt the big muscles of his thigh work under her touch, tensing and then relaxing; she ran her hand down to his knee and back again and she heard come from him what sounded like a cross between a whimper and a grunt.  Maybe it wasn't so innocent. 

"How come I wasn't invited to go with you to get Donna?"  CJ piped up. 

It took Josh a second to realize CJ was speaking to him.  Looking up, he took a swig of his beer and cleared his throat. "You?  I needed bad cops.  I was afraid you'd try to be the good cop and the whole point was for me to be the good cop."  

That was interesting.  Donna leveled a penetrating gaze at him. "The whole point was for you to be the good cop?" 

Josh paused a second and then nodded slightly at her before forcing himself to look back to CJ.  "Besides, you would have been a buzzkill. You would have tried to stop us."  

"A buzzkill?" CJ repeated indignantly.  "I've never been accused of being a buzzkill in my entire life.  I'm a party.  A walking party. In fact, at Cal, that's what they used to call me.  CJ, the walking party."  

"That's one party I'd like to attend," Danny muttered under his breath, audible only to Donna.  She shot him an amused, inquisitive look.  

Just at that moment, the waiter set a fresh drink in front of CJ.  She held it up. "See, I'm a drink ahead of all of you already.  Buzzkill... my ass."  Apparently, the quickly-consumed first drink was already taking effect. 

Will replied, "Maybe not a buzzkill, but you probably would have at least told us that it was not a good idea for four White House staffers to make a public spectacle of themselves.  Although in my defense, I was new and a victim of intense peer pressure.  I was just trying to fit in.  Besides, I don't think any of us knew that Donna's buzzer wasn't going to work, or that Josh was going to refuse to call her, opting instead for the aforementioned snowball-throwing approach outside of the apartment." 

CJ nodded, pacified by the fact that she probably would have discouraged such behavior. Even if she did secretly think it was romantic. "Don't worry, Will, I only blame Josh.  For not inviting me and for the public snowball throwing." 

"Me? They all threw snowballs, too." 

"Yeah.  And one of them hit me." Donna grimaced. 

"One of them hit you?"  Josh looked a little horrified.  "I don't remember that." 

"That's because you were drunk and pitiful."  Charlie smiled with satisfaction, deciding that that admission meant he'd won the argument. 

Leaning forward so as to address CJ on the other side of Carol, Danny changed the subject. "So, CJ, how's life on the podium... and off? Anything interesting going on with you?"  

"Things are-" CJ started. 

Carol quickly interjected, "CJ is dating the greatest guy." 

"Oh."  Danny's eyebrows raised in surprise.  "Who is this great guy?" 

"I'm not sure-" 

Carol once again interrupted her. "His name is Ben and he's with the forest service.  Such a hunk." 

"I see." Danny nodded solemnly, betraying very little emotion. 

"Donna, don't you think Ben's a hunk?"  Carol asked a tad breathlessly. 

"Um... well..."  She stuttered as she could feel Josh smirking over at her as he waited to see how she defined hunk, but Donna didn't take the bait. "I don't know.  I've never met him." 

"You haven't?" Carol continued.  "He's been in several times to see CJ." 

"I guess I've just missed him."  Donna noticed CJ's pained expression and mercifully changed the topic.  "We haven't even ordered yet and I see Carlos hovering.  What's everybody going to have to eat?"  

CJ shot her a grateful look as they all fell into silence and busily started studying the menu. 

Donna pointed to an item on the menu that she was sharing the Josh. "I think you should try this." 

"I don't want to," Josh stated emphatically. 

"Live a little.  Get outside your comfort zone." 

"Shrimp heads, cooked in a citrus-lime marinade?  Do you really think that is something I would enjoy?" 

"No?" 

"No.  I thought you knew me." His tone bordered on hurt. 

"I do know you." 

"Not if you think that that is something I would enjoy." 

"Fine.  Get the seasoned flank steak. Well-done." 

He looked over at her and gave her a dimpled grin. "You do know me." 

"Yes, I do," Donna muttered quietly.  "Now, how about getting me another drink?" 

"Already?" 

"Yes.  Plural, remember?" 

"How could I forget?"  Josh signaled Carlos and they all placed their orders. 

*** 

"Eat some more rice," Josh prodded. 

"Why?" Donna's answer was somewhere between a giggle and a snort. 

"Because you're getting juiced," Josh whispered in her ear.  

Donna trembled.  The feeling of his breath on her neck and cheek and ear sent involuntary shivers down her spine and right to her center.  "Juiced?" 

"Yes. Juiced. You've had a lot to drink." 

"I am not juiced." She feigned an indignant tone, but reveled in the feel on his lips so near her ear.  "I am not juiced."  She repeated, leaning even further into him.  "Besides, we've had the same number of drinks. Why aren't you more juiced?" 

"I'm feeling... fine.  But I'm pretty sure you can't compare the alcohol content of one of your drinks with that of a light beer." 

Her grin was big, too big. "I don't think my drinks are any stronger than-" 

"Um... someone's hands are in my lap..."  Danny's voice was high and urgent and all other conversations ceased as everyone's eyes immediately darted to him. 

"Donna! Leave the poor man alone," Josh accused her with faux shock before looking at the man to her right.  "I'm sorry, Danny, I can't take her anywhere." 

"Not me!"  Donna giggled and waved her hands high in the air to prove her innocence. 

All eyes at the table found Carol.  "What?"  She looked around.  "Oh."  She reluctantly removed her hands from Danny's lap.  "Sorry.  It's just so crowded in this booth." 

"CJ!"  Will screeched. 

"Hmmm?"  CJ smiled at him. 

"Now that's my lap!" 

She glared at Carol, obviously trying to make a point about overly tactile people and the trouble it could get them into. "Right, sorry..."  CJ slurred right through the word sorry, "I suddenly forgot to utilize my fotor munction and keep my hands off my neighbor." 

In a rare mirthful display, Charlie laughed out loud.  "Fotor munction?" 

"Yeah.  Motor function, that's what I said.  I forgot to keep my motor function off my neighbor." 

"Ceee Jaaay..."  Carol drawled while smiling carelessly.  "You know Ben wouldn't like it if you were getting your motor function on Will."  She patted her boss on the shoulder after her scolding. 

CJ appeared as if her head might explode at any moment. 

Josh noticed and decided not to let sleeping dogs lie. "Yes, CJ, Ranger Ben wouldn't like it.  And as the Deputy Chief of Staff, I can't be a party to any type of inappropriate behavior between co-" 

"You want to be careful about raising the issue of inappropriate behavior between co-workers there, Josh?"  CJ retorted, carefully pronouncing every word this time. 

"Stop!"  Donna announced loudly, putting up her hand up and pouting at Josh. "Tonight you are not the Deputy Chief of Staff. No work, you promised."  

Josh winked at CJ. "What inappropriate behavior?  You heard, tonight I'm not the Deputy Chief of Staff." 

Will decided it was an excellent time for a change of subject. "So, Danny, how's the book coming?" 

"You know... you know he's writing a book?"  CJ almost strained a neck muscle with how fast she turned to look at him. 

"Yes," Will answered slowly. 

"It was slow at first, but..." Danny began to answer. 

CJ interrupted, "You know he's writing a book and I don't."  Will nodded.  "Who else knows?"  

Everyone spoke at once. 

"Well, I did-" 

"Sure, doesn't everybody know-" 

"I heard some time ago-" 

"Wait!"  CJ held up her hand, looked past Carol to Danny, and demanded, "How does every single person at this table know you're writing a book, 'cept me?"  

Danny just gave her a conciliatory smile and shrugged. 

*** 

  
Charlie surveyed his assembled dinner companions and noted their varying stages of intoxication.  Sheesh, they get one night off and act like they've just escaped from Prohibition. Personally, he'd only had about three-quarters of a beer, so he was basically without the feel-good benefit that his friends were currently enjoying. Drinking certainly affected different people in very different ways.  His eyes rested on CJ. Presently, she was shooting daggers at Carol through narrowed eyes. Blatantly. 

Carol didn't notice because she was turned towards Danny, who frankly still looked slightly ill-at-ease with her focused attention. He was peering at her, his expression slightly askew, as she spoke at length about how seeing the movie _Red Dawn_ at the age of 13 had changed her life and actually led her to public service. Charlie peered around the table to see if anyone else was starting to realize that Carol turned into a real fruit loop when she drank, or noticed CJ's obvious annoyance with her. 

He looked to the man across from him.  Will was staring at his plate intently.  Since Will considered himself a worldly and well-traveled guy, he'd decided to try the shrimp head ceviche.  Apparently, that was a bad move, because he was three shades of green and appeared as if he might get sick at any moment.  

Charlie turned to the couple next to him. And, yes, couple was the only way to describe them. They weren't paying attention to anything else happening at the table.  They also weren't actually engaged in conversation.  Donna, noticeably feeling no pain, was leaning her head back against Josh's arm, staring at the ceiling and swaying slightly to the music from the band across the room. Josh was gazing at her, obviously mesmerized. Charlie shook his head and internally rolled his eyes. Who did they think they were fooling? Either they were already doing it, or they were idiots. 

So there they were.  The effects of the drinking clearly evident in each of them: CJ angry, Carol flirty, Will queasy, Danny nervous, Donna dreamy, and Josh schmoopy.  Charlie smiled to himself; they were like his little band of alcoholic dwarfs.  Just then, Will's head shot up and he announced that he was going to get sick.  Before anyone could react, he bolted from the table.  Oh yeah, Charlie thought, it was definitely time for him to get the hell out of there.  The sooner, the better. 


	4. Welcome to Miami 4

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

"We've got to 86 her." 

"Who?"  

"Carol."  CJ's voice was grave. 

"Get rid of Carol?" Donna asked in an exaggeratedly hushed tone as they stood in the ladies' room. 

"Yes."  

"I'm in," Donna declared with conviction.  "Mmm... why are we getting rid of Carol?  We like Carol, don't we?" 

"Sure." 

"Then why..."  Donna studied herself in the mirror and then caught CJ's reflection as she reapplied her make-up.  Donna's vision was slightly blurry, but CJ's make-up looked different somehow, and not in a good way.  Best tell her. 

"CJ... CJ!" Donna urgently tried to get the other woman's attention. 

"What?" She squinted at Donna through the mirror with a slightly annoyed expression. 

"Careful... you might want to..."  With less dexterity than usual, she brought her hands to her own cheeks and patted them in demonstration.  "No reason to look like you're going to your audition at the Clown College tonight." 

CJ braced her hand against the counter and then turned to level her best glare at Donna.  It lasted only a second before she broke down into giggles. "Clown College?  That's hysterical.  You're really funny." 

Donna beamed.  "I am, aren't I?  Now what were we-" 

"Seriously, when you leave Josh you should be a stand..." she stuttered slightly, "a stand-up comic." 

"I'm not leaving Josh," Donna stated instantly.  In fact, the side of her body that had been pressed up against Josh all night long in the booth was just beginning to cool down.  She didn't want it to cool down. 

"Oh, too bad.  Because you would have made a helluva stand-up comic." 

"Thank you!"  She nodded enthusiastically.  "I think so, too.  We'll just blame Josh for the loss of that potentially..." she paused to hiccup, "...limitless career."  Just because she didn't want to leave him didn't mean she wasn't willing to blame him.  "Now what were we talking about?"  

"When?" 

"When we came in here." 

"I don't know."  CJ shook her head and turned back towards the mirror to continue applying even more make-up. 

"Carol!"  Donna exclaimed triumphantly.  "You want to get rid of Carol.  Why do you want to get rid of Carol?" 

"Because she's a spy," CJ explained, as if stating the obvious. 

"Whose spy?"  Donna hiccupped. 

"Ken.  She's working for Ken." 

"Who's Ken?" 

"My boyfriend."  She sighed loudly. 

"Boyfriend!  I didn't know you were at the boyfriend stage!  That's great."  Donna spontaneously hugged CJ, which caused CJ to miss with her lipstick and draw a crimson line across her face. 

"No, it's not.  And he's not my boyfriend."  CJ grabbed a tissue from the counter and tried to wipe away the mistake.  She did about as efficient a job at cleaning up the smeared lipstick as she did with the reapplication of the cosmetics in the first place.  She took one final look in the mirror, through her skewed vision, and decided that it was as good as it was going to get. She started for the door. 

"But you just said he's your boyfriend..."  Donna followed CJ out of the ladies' room and they started down the hall back to the restaurant. 

"I know.  I misspoke.  He calls, we talk, or he talks to Carol.  For some reason she acts like Ken is some sort of God, like he saved... I don't know... social security or something.  Maybe she should date Ken. Maybe then she'd leave Danny alone." 

"Doesn't Josh look handsome tonight?"  Donna changed the subject with a slightly sappy look in her eye. 

"I thought you were mad at him?" 

"I was?" 

"Weren't you?" 

"Why was I mad?" 

"Because he ruined your dream of becoming a stand-up comic." 

"Right! Bastard! You know..."  Donna looked thoughtfully at her.  "I don't think his name is Ken." 

"No, his name is Josh."  CJ shook her head at her foolish friend. 

"No, not my Josh.  Your boyfriend.  I don't think his name is Ken." 

"Oh."  CJ stopped in her tracks and put her hand on Donna's arm to arrest her forward motion as well.  "What is it?" 

Donna shook her head quickly.  "I don't know... maybe-" 

"Ben!"  CJ looked relieved at her revelation as she slapped her thigh. "It's Ben."  She started walking again, and Donna almost tripped trying to keep up with her as they continued back towards the booth. 

"CJ, Carol works for you, right?"  Donna took hold of CJ's arm for balance as they walked. 

"Does she?  Or do I work for her?" 

"I'm pretty sure she works for you." 

"So?" 

"Well, if you're her boss.  Just order her to stop spying for Ken-" 

"Ben," CJ corrected confidently.  

"Ben. Just order her to stop spying for Ben and then she can stay and drink with us." 

"An order?  Like an executive order?" 

"Sure."  Donna shrugged, hiccupping again.  Now that they were back in the restaurant, the room was a little spinney.  Maybe the mojitos had more 'juice' than she thought. 

"Okay." CJ nodded seriously. "I'll try it." 

When they reached the table, CJ began, without preamble, "Carol, by executive order I command you to stop spying for Ken..."  She flinched as she got the name wrong again. "I mean Ben..." 

"CJ."  Josh bit back a laugh.  "It's just Danny and I sitting at the table here." He motioned to the table with his hand.  Danny waved with a goofy grin on his face and CJ waved back. 

"Oh... then I command you by executive order to get me another drink." 

"Sure."  Danny smiled and signaled to the server. 

"No!"  Josh directed while shaking his head.  With Carol, Will, and Charlie missing, he was the only sober person at the table.  Well, perhaps sober was overstating it.  The soberest person at the table. Actually, Charlie had been the only sober one. The other two had been as far gone as everyone else, maybe farther gone.  When the server came by, Josh ordered four glasses of water. 

Looking up, Josh noticed that Donna was still standing over the booth, staring down at him with a frown.  "What?" 

"Why didn't you support me when I wanted to go to Clown College?" 

Josh just stared back at her. 

"Stand-up comic," CJ interjected loudly from across the table.  "He didn't support you when you wanted to be a stand-up comic" 

"Right." Donna nodded hard once. "Why didn't you support me when I wanted to be a stand-up comic?" 

"Huh?"  His lips quirked up as he scooted over in the booth to let her sit next to him.  He looked around for help deciphering what the hell she was talking about, when suddenly his gaze came across CJ's extremely rosy cheeks, very colorful eyelids and slightly lipstick-smeared jaw. "Whoa!" 

"What?"  CJ shot back. 

"Did you accidentally trip and fall face-first into a vat of eye shadow while you were gone?  Don't they have mirrors or, I don't know, any type of reflective surface in the ladies' room?" 

"Shut up.  You ruined Donna's career." 

"How did I do that?"  Josh asked with a laugh.  He couldn't help it. As serious a charge as ruining Donna's career was, coming from CJ's Picasso-esque visage, he couldn't keep a straight face. 

"She wanted to be a stand-up comic and instead, she slaves away for you."  Incensed by his laugher, she turned to Danny.  "He's laughing, why is he laughing?  The crushing of Donna's precious dream is not funny." 

Danny peered at her more closely, shrugged and smiled. "Who knows why Josh does what he does."  He picked up a napkin, dunked it in his water and motioned it at her.  "You have a little something." 

"Thanks, will you get it?"  She leaned towards him and he obliged. 

"Joshua." Donna's frown was long-forgotten and she peered out at him from under heavy lids. "Will you walk me back to the hotel?"  There was plenty of room in the booth now, but the two were still pressed against one another as if there was a continued economy of space.  

"You tired?"  Josh tried not to sound disappointed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun and he certainly wasn't ready for the evening to end. Even if he was being called on the carpet for stifling Donna's comedic potential. 

"Not really.  I just want to walk on the beach while we're here.  Barefoot.  I want to feel the sand between my toes. Will you walk on the beach with me?" 

Talk of barefoot beach-walking and sand sent him reeling.  "Denver," he blurted out. 

She turned to squint at him. "Huh?" 

"Um..."  

"Why do you keep naming cities?" 

He decided that it was not a good idea to tell her that walking on the beach reminded him of earlier, and that he couldn't get fantasies of her frolicking on the beach in her teeny-tiny red bikini out of his mind.  "It's the state capital with the fifth largest population," he muttered under his breath.  

She furrowed her brow as she continued to look at him oddly. 

"We should go there."  He once again blurted words before thinking, as he met her questioning gaze. 

"What?" 

"We should... go there."  He was getting lost in the blue of her eyes.  Was it possible to drown in someone's eyes? 

"Why?"  

"Well, not necessarily to Denver, but to Colorado, the mountains.  So you can learn to ski."   Where in the hell had that come from?  Maybe he was more intoxicated than he thought.  "You still want to learn to ski, right?" 

 "Yes!"  She instantly perked up and reached down to grip his thigh in excitement. 

"So we should go there."  He was acutely aware of her hand on his leg, and it was definitely affecting his reasoning... along with the beer.   "When Sam's parents reconciled, they bought a cabin somewhere... Steamboat, I think.  He said we could use it whenever we wanted."  What in the heck was he doing? 

"You would teach me to ski?"  

"Yes."  Wait.  Did he even know how to ski?  He couldn't remember, and then he couldn't think, because Donna had wrapped her arms around his neck in an impulsive hug.  Didn't matter, he'd learn to ski if he had to. 

"Hey!"  As soon as the hug started, it was interrupted by CJ from across the table.  Josh wondered if it was illegal to try and drown, or in any other way harm a colleague and friend, for interrupting a hug between a boss and his assistant.  Even though he'd never officially practiced law, he felt fairly confident that no jury would convict him when the whole story was testified to.  All six years' worth. 

"Hmmm?"  Donna, frankly much more composed than Josh, sat back in her seat and looked over at their dinner companions. 

"What's going on over there?" 

"We're going skiing.  Want to come?"  Donna asked enthusiastically as Josh sucked in a nervous breath.  He was certain, even in his current state, that no one else would think it was a good idea that he'd just invited Donna on a potentially romantic mountain getaway. 

CJ scratched her chin and looked closely at Danny.  "Do you want to go skiing, Daniel?" 

"Yes!"  He paused before looking back to her curiously.  "Where are we going to get a boat?" 

"Good question.  No wonder you're such a good reporter."  She smiled at him brightly for several long seconds before turning back to Donna and Josh. "Where are we going to get a boat?" 

"Sam. Sam has a boat."  Donna answered in a matter-of-fact manner, as Josh let out the breath he'd been holding with a relieved whoosh. 

"Spanky!"  CJ squealed.  "Where is he?  Is he here?" 

Josh shook his head.  "He's in California still." 

"Oh."  CJ's face fell.  "I miss him." 

"Me, too," Donna agreed solemnly. 

"Let's drink to him."  CJ's face brightened.  

"Excellent idea."  Donna turned to look for someone from whom to order more drinks.  Once again Josh waved the waiter off and handed her the water.  

"I can't toast with water, it's bad luck," she slurred as she shot him a look that said he was crazy for suggesting she tempt fate in such a reckless manner. 

"You still have part of your last mojito left."  He pointed to the nearly empty glass. 

"Oh."  She stared at it intently before raising her glass. "CJ, do you want to make the toast?" 

"Huh?" 

"Do you want to make the toast to Sam?" 

"Oh. Yes."  She grabbed her water and held it out in front of her for several seconds.  She turned to Danny and became distracted by the way he was studying her. "You shaved your beard?" 

"You're just now noticing?" 

"Did you just shave it?" 

"Like here at the restaurant? In the bathroom?" he asked jokingly. 

"Yes."  

"No.  I shaved it about six months ago." 

"So it's been like that all night." 

"Yes." 

"Hmmm... I think I would have noticed-" 

"CJ," Donna interrupted, waving at her from across the table. 

"What?"  She turned back to Donna, annoyance present in her voice. 

"My arm is getting tired." 

"Why are you telling me?  Josh, why is she telling me that?" 

"You were proposing a toast to Sam." 

"Toasting Sam?"  She knit her brows together. 

"Yes." Josh and Donna nodded in unison. 

"Yes." She turned her water to the other raised glasses: Danny's and Josh's beers-- Danny had switched to beer after his first mojito-- and Donna's mostly-gone mojito.  "To Sam!" 

"To Sam!"  They all repeated, clinking glasses. 

Danny smiled at CJ. "Very eloquent.  No wonder you're the press secretary." 

"Thanks," CJ beamed. 

"So Sam's in California, but can we still use his steamboat to ski?"  Donna turned to ask Josh. 

He tried not to laugh.  "I don't think his boat is here.  Besides it's not the kind you can ski behind." 

"It's not?"  Donna turned to him with a pout.  "Why did you suggest it then?" 

"I don't know."  Josh bit his lip, partly to keep from laughing, but mostly to keep from kissing her.  Suddenly, it was a battle he desperately didn't want to win. His desire for her had been rampant since the little red bikini incident, and his inhibitions were currently hindered. He leaned forward... 

"Hey!" 

"What?!"  Josh rolled his eyes to his forehead and took a deep breath before glancing across the table.  He was seriously going to kick CJ's ass the next time she interrupted right as he and Donna were about to have a... moment. 

"How did you get rid of Carol?" 

"What do you mean?"  Danny's innocence was insincere; he looked like the cat that ate the canary. 

"She was sticking to me like glue."  CJ heaved a heavily exaggerated sigh. 

Donna glanced up. "Yeah, and where are Will and Charlie?" 

"Charlie went back to the hotel; he wanted to be there when the President and First Lady returned from their dinner." 

"Okay... but what about Will and Charlie?"  Donna asked again. 

Josh snickered.  "Do you mean Will and Carol?" 

Donna furrowed her brow in concentration.  "Isn't that what I said?" 

Josh pointed across the room.  Both CJ and Donna turned their heads and simultaneously, their eyes popped wide open.  Sure enough, on a make-shift dance floor right in front of the band, a lone couple stood swaying to the music, foreheads pressed together. 

CJ actually guffawed as she took in the surprising image. 

"That's Will and Carol!"  Donna exclaimed. 

"Yes. Yes, it is."  Josh smirked. 

"Why are they... what are they... how did..."  Donna couldn't find the words. 

"What mi compadre is trying to say is: why in the hell are Carol and Will slow-dancing... together... at this Cuban restaurant?" 

"Well, that's kind of a long story."  Danny shook his head. 

"How long can it be, we were only in the ladies' room for a minute and a half." 

"Actually, you two were in there for like two years.  Josh was about to send out a posse to find Donna." 

"He didn't want to find me?"  CJ scoffed across the table. 

Josh was undaunted by her tone.  She'd ruined too many opportunities for him tonight. "Not especially." 

"Fine, whatever, let's get back to how that," CJ pointed across the room, "happened."  

"While you two were gone, Will was still in the restroom and Charlie was making noise about leaving." 

"Okay.  So far I follow." 

"Well, then Josh tried to bribe Charlie into taking Carol with him back to the hotel." 

"That didn't work?" 

"Apparently, Charlie didn't need twenty bucks that badly." 

"He wouldn't take her back." 

"Actually he did end up offering to walk her home, but she refused to leave you." 

"You mean she refused to leave you."  CJ's statement was so forceful that Danny actually blushed. He started making excuses for her. 

"She's had quite a bit to drink..."  

"Yeah... it didn't seem to be deterring her from protecting me from..." 

"What?" 

"Nothing."  CJ shook her head.  "Please continue." 

"So Charlie left and Carol stayed.  Then Will came back from the restroom. I don't know what happened to him in there for half an hour, but suffice it to say, he seemed... less green.  He came up to the table, said something about his baby being put in a corner and-" 

"Whose baby? Will has a baby?"  CJ interjected. 

"I don't know.  But Carol must, because she squealed so loud that I think I've permanently lost 40% of the hearing in my right ear... and then they took off for the dance floor, where they've been ever since." 

Donna was leaning on the table, her face propped on her hands, looking absolutely enraptured.  "That is the best story I've ever heard.  Josh, isn't that the best story you've ever heard?" 

"No.  But that's probably because I lived it."  Josh wasn't really listening to the story.  His hand was on Donna's back as she leaned forward over the table, and he was fully invested in the progress it made as he swept it up and down her spine. 

"Right.  That must have been really exciting!" 

"It was."  Josh smiled adoringly at her.  Had she always been so damn cute?  

"CJ?"  Danny was studying her curiously from her left. 

"Yeah?" 

"Who's Ben?" 

"Who?"  She knit her brows, trying for an appearance of confusion. She needed to stall for time, in order think of something to say. The last thing she was capable of doing right now would be to try to explain this man who had come into her life from out of the blue and with whom she had nothing in common and shared no chemistry. Besides, sometimes she thought the guy was practically a figment of Carol's rather fertile imagination. 

"Ben?  Carol kept mentioning a Ben?" 

"First of all, Daniel," CJ announced triumphantly, "his name is Ken."  

"Oh." Danny looked deflated. 

"And he's not my boyfriend.  He's my ex from a long time ago, and he's back in D.C. for God-knows-what reason.  But it's... it's nothing. It's something Carol wants more than I do.  In fact, I think she might be the one dating him," she confided to Danny. "She certainly talks to him more than I ever have." 

"Oh."  Danny perked up considerably. "So he's not the one." 

CJ snorted and started laughing hysterically.  "No. He's not the one."  When she'd stopped laughing, she declared to the table, "We should get out of here. Anyone want to get out of here?" 

"I do."  Donna raised her hand. "I wanna walk on the beach with the sand and the shells." 

"What about them?"  Danny pointed to their slowly gyrating colleagues on the dance floor, as everyone turned to gaze in that direction. 

CJ studied them thoughtfully for several seconds. "They are adults," she proclaimed sagely. "We will tell them we are leaving, and then they can fend for themselves." 

So that's what they did. 


	5. Welcome to Miami 5

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

Josh took ginger-footed steps onto the beach.  Even though the sand was fine, his feet were pretty much virgin territory when it came to going barefoot outdoors.  "What's so great about this again?" 

"It's nature." 

"I hate nature." 

"No, you don't." 

"I assure you I do... right?"  After all, he was several beers in, and currently distracted by the way the breeze was making the flimsy skirt of her dress flip around, coming dangerously close to revealing something.  He was quickly beginning to realize what was so great about being out on the beach. 

"You're an outdoorsman." 

"I'm really not.  I just say that to impress you," he called after her, as she made much quicker progress down the beach than he did. 

"It's the sand between your toes.  Can you feel the sand between your toes?" 

"Yes."  He grimaced.  "But this is why civilized people wear shoes and, you know, shower. So as not to feel anything between their toes." 

As Donna ran ahead, her feet sank into the cool white sand. She breathed in deeply and allowed the salty sea air to assault her already fuzzy senses.  She felt free.  And that felt good.  She hadn't felt that way in what seemed like forever. 

Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to try and follow her.  Well, in his mind he was throwing caution to the wind, but in reality he was still more vigilant than careless.  Because while he did speed up, he also kept his eyes trained on where his foot was about to fall with every progressive step he took on the beach.  What? There could be sharp stones or broken shells or jellyfish, and he had tender feet.  You couldn't be too careful.  It made it hard to keep up with his significantly less-inhibited assistant. 

"Donna!"  He called out frantically when he saw her head directly towards the water.  

She turned back toward him.  "What?" 

"Where are you going?" 

She smiled as she stood with her arms outstretched on either side of her.  "Swimming."  Her tone indicated that she was quite pleased with herself.  Just as he was almost to her, she turned and started once again for the shoreline and the ocean. 

Alarmed, he ran this time to catch up with her and grabbed her arm. 

"No.  Donna, you can't go swimming." 

"Why not?"  She turned a pout on him. 

"Because!"  It was the only argument that came to mind; she looked cute, nay, adorable, and it was affecting his debate and reasoning skills.  Well, that and the sea air. And maybe all the drinking. 

She put her hands on her hips defiantly, but the effect was ruined when she wobbled.  "Because why?" 

Until tonight, Josh had all but forgotten what it was like to deal with a drunk person while you were passably sober.  Well, kind of sober.  In any case, he felt several pangs of remorse at what Donna must have gone through dealing with him on more than one occasion.   "Because I said so."  Oh, Lord, he did not just say that. 

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to glare at him, but it was muted by the dark and by the fact that her pupils were dilated. 

Sensing that he needed a better argument, he tried again. "Because it's night and you're drunk. You could drown." 

"I'm not drunk." She knit her eyebrows into a rebellious scowl. 

Josh averted his gaze to the ocean so he wouldn't laugh at the face she was making. It was more endearing than menacing. "You really, most definitely, are." 

She considered that a moment and decided on a different argument.  "I'm a skillful swimmer." 

"Yes, but you don't have your swimsuit," he pointed out, and once again, was instantly sidetracked as images of Donna in her swimsuit from earlier flooded his brain.  Columbia, Pierre, Nashville.  Oh, hell, that wasn't working anymore.  Even picturing Mrs. Pembroke and her moles was ineffectual with Donna standing on the beach, the breeze molding her dress to every contour of her body in an extremely alluring fashion.  He could see every curve and swell beneath the clinging fabric.  

"I'm like a fish.  Fish don't need swimsuits.  Fish swim naked.  I could swim naked," she reasoned as she looked out over the water and fingered the hem of her dress. 

Was she trying to kill him? 

She started lifting her skirt as if to pull it over her head and somehow, before she was able to disrobe completely, he managed a mangled, barely-recognizable, screech of the word 'no.' 

"Why?"  She stopped in mid-motion, her arms crossed over her front, fabric bunched in either hand, the hem just barely still covering the top of her legs. 

"Are you trying to kill me?" His voice was nearly a shout.  "First the bikini and now this."  He ran one hand roughly through his hair and turned back towards the city, then turned to face her once again, willing himself to stay in control. 

"No, don't be silly. I'm not trying to kill you.  Why would I do that?"  She asked thoughtfully, still clutching her raised dress. 

"I... don't know." He held his breath.  He'd said too much.  She did not need to know the effect she was currently having on him.  It was completely inappropriate, although the entire night was shaping up to be one of inappropriate closeness between boss and assistant.  He couldn't fully suppress a smile; it was a really good night. 

"If I wanted to kill you, why would I go swimming naked... how would that kill you?  If I wanted to kill you, I'd put poison in your coffee or..." 

"What?"  Josh yelped, snapping to attention. 

"If I wanted to kill you, I'd put poison in your coffee." 

"You've thought about this?"  He looked at her incredulously; forgetting that she was standing there, still exposing her legs from her underwear down. Well, mostly forgetting.  From the glimpse he was getting, she was wearing black underwear. Was it at all significant that they were black?  And possibly lacy.  And from his admittedly limited vantage point, a thong. 

"Noooo. Well, except to decide that if I was going to kill you, I'd put poison in your coffee."  She dropped her skirt and his inappropriate view of her skivvies was gone. 

"But you don't bring me coffee."  He shook his head.  Donna had a plan for his ultimate demise and this was the detail he decided to focus on?  The black thong was definitely affecting his thought process. 

"Exactly!"  She pumped one fist in the air. 

"Exactly what?" 

"That's why it's a foolproof plan.  Nobody'd ever 'spect."  She grinned at him devilishly. 

On impulse, he playfully lunged at her.  Surprisingly agile for someone three sheets to the wind, she dodged him and took off running. She headed toward the water, but only went in ankle-deep, so the surf just barely splashed around her shin when the tide rose. 

Josh stopped short where the dry sand ended and became wet.  When he'd first tried to tackle her, he'd dropped both sets of shoes-- of course he'd been carrying hers as well -- so now his hands were free. 

"Whatcha gonna do now?  Is the big powerful politician afraid to get his feet wet?"  She taunted as she kicked a little water at him. 

He took the bait and splashed in after her.  She squealed at his sudden movement and giggling, took off down the shore.  Now that Josh had committed to getting his feet wet and sandy, he caught up to her easily.  He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her back to him with one swift movement.  Shrieking, she struggled to get loose, and the motion sent her careening into him.  Josh was caught off-balance and he stumbled backwards, ultimately falling into the three inches of water and landing on his behind.  Hard.  Donna went down too, laughing with delight the whole way. 

Josh found himself half-sitting, half-laying in the sand as a wave gently rolled in and soaked him in the cool, salty tide even more.  He didn't notice the coarse water-and-sand mixture that was now swirling inside of his khakis, probably because Donna was sprawled across him, still shaking with laughter.  He didn't let go of the vice-like grip he had around her waist. 

It only took several seconds to recover from the fall, and he was surprised to realize that he didn't mind sitting in the ocean, his clothes sopping wet, sand most likely working its way into his boxers; at least not when he had a warm giggling Donna draped on top of him.  If this was the outdoors, maybe he was an outdoorsman after all.  She started to take deep labored breaths in an effort to recover from her amusement, and suddenly the most important thing in the world to Josh was to keep her laughing.  So, of course, he did what any person in his enviable position would have done.  He tickled her. 

*** 

"Is someone manhandling a Miss Giggle-fresh down there?" 

"A Miss Giggle-fresh?"  Danny laughed.  "CJ, what is a Miss Giggle-fresh?" 

"It's that doll, you know, the one that giggled when you pressed her stomach." 

"Oh, I thought maybe that was some weird nickname you have for Donna or something.  It had me a little worried for a second about the nature of your relationship with her."  CJ snorted and stopped walking in order to empty some sand out of her shoe.  She put a hand on Danny's shoulder for balance.  "Why would you think I was talking 'bout Donna?" 

Danny peered down the wide beach from their vantage point at the top. "Because I'm pretty sure that's Donna down there making all that noise." 

CJ put her foot back down on the ground and steadied herself. 

"Donna is Miss Giggle-fresh?" 

Danny put his hand on CJ's shoulder and squinted in the dark past her. He saw what looked to be a man in a white shirt and a woman in a blue dress tumble to the sand near the water in a heap. 

"Yup.  I'm pretty sure Donna's Miss Giggle-fresh." 

"Is that anyone we know pressing her stomach?" 

"Mmm...hmmm."  It really shouldn't have taken any great powers of deduction, since it hadn't been that long since they'd separated from them after exiting the restaurant.  

"Cool.  Are they gonna kiss?"  CJ tried to turn to look, but Danny kept his hands firmly on her shoulders so she couldn't.  "Why are you holding me?  I want to see." 

"No. You don't."  A new bout of squeals and shrieks came from the direction of the water.  "In the morning you won't want to have witnessed anything.  Trust me." 

CJ stopped struggling, and pinned him with a glare.  "Just because they're making out don't think you're gonna make out with me." 

Danny, not fully cognizant of her declaration, was still peering down at the water.  "Well, they're not making out.  At least not yet..."  Suddenly what she'd just said hit him and he ripped his attention from the scene being played out on the beach below, eyes going wide. "What?" 

CJ's voice was full of wronged indignation. "You've wanted to make out with me all night.  So if you have ideas, let me tell you, not gonna happen."  She poked him in the chest to emphasize each of the last three words. 

"You're ... you drank too much," Danny stuttered.  He took a deep breath before recovering with a sly smile.  "The booze is obviously making you delusional.  You're the one that's wanted to make out with me all night.  Not the other way around." 

"I did not!"  There was fire in her eyes. 

"Yes, you did.  You were crazy with jealousy." 

"Jealous!  I'm not jealous.  CJ the walking party does not do jealous.  There were clear indications all night long that you want me." 

"I want you?"  He tried with all his might to look blasé. 

"Of course," she replied haughtily. "You've been extremely obvious, except when you were getting fresh with Carol at dinner." 

"A-ha!  Jealous!  And I did not get fresh with Carol," Danny defended loudly. "She was the one who got handsy with me.  I tried to control her, but sometimes a woman wants what she wants.  And Carol couldn't resist the magnetism-" 

"I'd stop now if you want to kiss me," she ordered. 

"What makes you think I'd kiss you?" 

"Of course you want to kiss me.  I'm damn good when it comes to kissing, and other things... and it's not like you don't know that. It's not like we haven't done it before." 

"But, uh..." 

CJ crinkled her brow in concentration.  "We have done it before, right?" 

"It?"  Now Danny's voice was a tad strangled. 

"Kissed, you know, locked lips, smooched, played tonsil-hockey... we've done that before," she shot him a curious glance, "or was that someone else?" 

"Oh... kiss, yes, we've kissed before." 

"So then why don't you want to kiss me now?" 

"I... uh... don't... well," Danny stuttered. 

"See, I knew it.  You do want to kiss me." 

They heard another squeal come from the beach.  CJ turned and surveyed, "I guess they must not be kissing yet." 

"A-ha!  Your judgment is impaired.  That's why you think I want to kiss you," Danny said triumphantly, thrusting his fists victoriously into the air. 

"My judgment is not impaired.  My judgment is perfect.  And my perfect judgment tells me you want nothing more than to throw me against that retaining wall and kiss me senseless."  She shook her head as if she felt sorry for him.  

"Your judgment is gone and I can prove it.  Exhibit A - Josh and Donna."  Danny motioned with his chin towards where their dinner companions had been cavorting, but seemed to have quieted down.  Thankfully he couldn't tell what they were doing now.  

"What do they have to do with anything?" 

"A high-profile White House staffer is openly frolicking with his assistant on a public beach while here on an official Presidential visit, and not only do you not care, you think its 'cool'.  Your judgment is impaired." 

"So?" 

"So?  If your judgment is impaired about them, then logically it's impaired about everything else.  Including the fact that you want to kiss me, but are pretending like you don't." 

"You're the one that's pretending.  You're probably not even drunk." 

"Hey, I'm drunk all right, lady.  But you're more so, you just can't hold your liquor as well as I can." 

"I can hold my liquor." 

"Usually." 

"First, I'm not as drunk as you," CJ reasoned. 

"You're more drunk," he replied confidently. "Drunker?  Drunkest?" 

Turning on a dime, CJ, in her less-than-clear-headed state, tried a different tact.  Frowning dejectedly, she tried to look upset.  "Are you saying you don't want to make out with me because I'm the drunkest?"  

He saw her sad expression and his heart melted.  "Of... no... um...of course I want to make out with you, even though you're the drunkest.  I always want to make out with you, whether I'm under the influence or not.  Well, under the influence of alcohol.  I'm always under the influence of you." 

CJ stared at him for a second before emitting an unladylike snort and succumbing to gales of laughter.  She bent over and clutched her stomach as she shook with mirth. "That's the worst line I've ever heard," she said breathlessly between laughs. "You better be drunk, or it does not bode well for your book." 

"Hey, I was being romantic. Is your amusement an indication that that wasn't as romantic as I thought it was going to be?" 

She stood back upright, her laughter subsiding. "Well, it was an admission that you want to make out with me, more than I want to make out with you. So that's something."  

They heard a low rumble of thunder and he glanced at the sky.  "It's gonna rain... we should get back to the hotel."   

She glanced upwards and felt the first drops begin to fall.  Linking her arm through his, they started walking again.  "Did you know Spanky had a steamboat? I thought steamboats were for rivers, not for lakes or the ocean." 

"Uh-huh."  Since his mind was completely occupied with the thought of kissing CJ, he couldn't come up with a more cogent response. 

"Daniel, I'm going to make you a deal."  She tugged on his arm, urging him to walk faster. 

"What kind of deal?"  He asked warily, having been duped once already. 

"We'll go to my room, get out of the rain. If you can provide me with a very good, very important reason why I didn't know you were writing a book while everyone else and their plumber did, I might just reward you by making out with you." 

He heaved a sigh, but agreed. "Okay, but just as long as you admit that you're the one that wanted to make out with me first." 

"Never." 

He answered quickly, "I can live with that." 

*** 

Donna squirmed on Josh's lap and began making a noise when he started to tickle her that was a hybrid between a squeal, a howl and a laugh.  For several minutes she was helpless against him.  He had the leverage and the strength, and he attacked her stomach, sides and underarms with ruthless abandon. 

Just as she was about to beg for mercy, he abruptly stopped and shifted her off his lap and onto the wet beach next to him.  She yelped at the loss of warmth from his body, but what she didn't realize was that Josh had his reasons for needing to get her off his lap post-haste. 

However bereft Donna felt at being moved off of him, it did give her the opening she needed to launch a counter-attack.  It caught Josh off-guard and the next thing he knew, he was the one laughing and gasping for breath as Donna's hands roamed everywhere.  Well, almost everywhere. Josh was quite focused on keeping them away from one area in particular, lest she discover once and for all the effect she was having on him.  In so doing, he was fairly unsuccessful in warding off her roaming hands. 

Finally, he was able to wrap his arms around her. By trapping her arms to the side of her body, he was able to pull her down next to him on the soft sand. 

They lay silent and catching their breath for several moments.  "Truce?"  Josh panted. 

"Truce," Donna agreed, also still breathless.  Rolling fully onto his back, he let go of her with his left arm and shifted his right arm so it was under her neck as they lay in the sand. 

Comfortable silence enveloped them.  Josh was still acutely aware of how aroused he was, but since they were still and it was dark, he stayed where he was and just enjoyed the way she was pressed up against his side. 

"I think it's going to rain."  Josh turned his head and murmured in her ear as a clap of thunder boomed over them. 

"Yup," Donna agreed. 

"Maybe we should go back."  He didn't move. 

"Why?" 

"So we don't get wet?" 

"We're already pretty much wet," she replied. 

"Why do you have a plan to poison me?"  He turned his head again and moved back slightly so he could look at her. 

"There are moments." 

"Moments when you want to murder me?" 

"Moments when you make me so mad that I fantasize about putting rat poison in your coffee.  You know, like Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5." 

"There are moments when I make you mad enough to want to poison me?"  That was a little shocking.  He knew he wasn't always the easiest person to get along with, and there were probably a lot of people in Washington who would fantasize about offing him, but not Donna. Never Donna. 

"Yup, it's raining," she observed, staring directly into the cloud-covered sky. 

"Like what moments?" 

"Hmmm?" 

"What moment?  Name a moment when I made you mad enough to want to poison me." 

She spoke without hesitation. "When I told you I wasn't comfortable spying on Toby, and you told me you didn't ask me what I was comfortable with.  At that moment I wanted to poison your coffee."  Her voice was sing-song-y, taking the edge off of her words.  But Josh still felt their meaning. 

"There was a lot of stress and it was-" 

"Don't worry, Joshua," she interrupted.  "I wouldn't be able to go through with it.  Even after one of your moments." 

"Hmph, I'm drinking water from here on out anyway.  You do realize that, don't you?" 

"You don't trust me?" 

"I did. But now that I know you have a plan to kill me with coffee, I'm not sure." 

She snuggled against his side as the first drops continued to fall from the sky, but neither of them budged from the spot.  They lay there for several long, silent moments.  Josh concentrated on the way her chest swelled and contracted against him as she breathed; it was thrilling to him, being that near her. 

"Why don't you like me anymore?"  She was staring straight up at the sky, heedless of the drops that were falling, and there was innocence in the tone of her voice. 

Josh lay absolutely still, completely stunned by the question. Especially in light of the fact that they were lying in the surf, flat on their backs, pressed flush up against one another.  He was feeling a whole lot of something at the moment, and the last thing he had expected was to be accused of not liking her. 

"What are you talking about?"  He asked carefully. 

"Why don't you like me anymore?"  

"I don't understand..."  He propped himself up and shifted his weight to one hip in order to look down at her. 

"Tonight notwithstanding." She shifted to her side as well, finally looking at him.  "It just feels like, lately, we don't like each other as much as we used to." 

"I like you." His voice was quiet. How on earth could she think he didn't like her?  Lord, he'd spent six years trying not to like her quite so much.  

"You do?"  Her voice was hazy and hopeful.  He sat all the way up and pulled her to a sitting position with him. 

"Sometimes I think I like you too much."  He let his eyes flicker down to the sand and then back up to meet hers. 

She gulped.  "Too much?" 

"Yeah."  He held her gaze for a minute. Alcohol or no, something was happening tonight.  But it couldn't.  Could it?  "How could you possibly think I don't like you?" 

"It just seems sometimes like you don't."  The rain was falling steadily now, drenching even the odd places that had remained dry after their frolicking in the water.  At least it was a fairly warm spring rain. 

Josh was so thunderstruck that he didn't even notice the rivulets of water that were streaming down his face.   He stuttered, "I... I would never want you to think...  I don't know what to say... you're my... I'm sorry..." He trailed off, not knowing how to react.  This was Donna.  How could they be on such completely different pages?  And how could he ever have given her the idea that he didn't like her as much as he used to?  Had things changed so drastically since last year? 

"We should get out of the rain," Donna said after several long moments of silence.  She scrambled to her feet, then held out a hand to help pull him upright.  He took it and once standing, she started to try and pull him down the beach.  But as he wasn't moving, she turned back to stare at him curiously.  "Josh, let's go." 

A familiar feeling of disappointment hit his gut. And suddenly he knew.  He knew he didn't want to let this moment, this opening go by.  Because of fear or timing or whatever, he'd allowed so many opportunities to evaporate and disappear over the years... he couldn't let it happen again.  The decision made, Josh tugged on their already-joined hands and pulled her so that she was back standing directly in front of him, their bodies separated by just a couple of inches of space.  His heart was beating a mile a minute in anticipation, as he looked her intently in the eye.  He licked the moisture from the rain off his lips before he spoke. "I like you, Donna." 

Even through the rain and her not-entirely-clear head, she felt the intensity in his voice and in the way his eyes were drilling though her.  He squeezed her hand and it was as if a volt of electricity passed through them in that one simple place where they touched.  Blushing furiously, she felt lightheaded, and the butterflies fluttered wildly in her stomach. Thankfully, the rain gave her ample camouflage. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.  "I like you, too, Josh." 

They stood staring at one other for several long moments.  Suddenly Josh couldn't take it another second.  He leaned towards her slightly and she followed suit.  Regardless of the rain, he was going to kiss her, and she was going to kiss him back.  It was time.  It was now.  He could almost taste her, almost sense the way her soft lips would feel underneath his. 

But just as they were less than an inch apart, a hideously loud clap of thunder startled them both.  Donna's hand flew to her chest as she jumped backwards.  After taking a minute to collect herself, she pointed to the hotel with her free hand.  "We should..."  

Josh took a deep breath, but his jaw tightened in frustration and disappointment.  "Yeah."  Another moment thwarted.  He wondered if there was any way he could reasonably blame this interruption on CJ, too.  Who knew, he wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn that she could controlled the weather. 


	6. Welcome to Miami 6

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

"You almost kissed me." 

"Yes." 

"We almost kissed." 

"I know."  He stopped abruptly, and since she'd been following him at close range, Donna ran straight into his backside. 

"Josh, why did we stop moving?"  Dripping wet and hopelessly disheveled, they'd entered the hotel from the back side near the pool, and now they were trying to find a discreet way up to their rooms.  

"Shhh."  Josh backed up and quickly pulled Donna behind a decorative pillar near the wall.  

"Josh, why did we stop moving, and why are you shushing me?"  She asked in an exaggerated whisper. 

   

He peeked back around the corner, towards the bank of elevators.  A cadre of Secret Service agents was camped out at the base.  "Secret Service at the elevators." 

"Of course there's Secret Service at the elevators.  The President of the United States of America is staying here."  Donna shook her head as if he were daft. 

"No, there are a bunch... too many... the President can't be far." 

Donna started down the hall, grinning. "Let's go say hi." 

"Are you crazy?  Look at us.  You can not go down there.  It's imperative-"   Josh had put a restraining arm out, pulling her back to him.  But in the light of the hotel, he couldn't help but notice the almost scandalous way the already-flimsy material of her wet dress was outlining her body.  It was practically see-through.  Yup, she was definitely wearing a black thong.   The entire thread of what he had been saying was lost, so all he could do was stare at her in stunned silence. 

"Josh..."  She waved her hand in front of his face.  "Josh, what's imperative..." 

"Huh?"  Josh grunted at her, trying to focus. 

"What's imperative?" 

"Oh." He swallowed and closed his eyes, hoping that would help his concentration.  Lo and behold, it did; it was much easier to think when he couldn't see her breasts straining against the wet cloth of her dress. "It's imperative that nobody from the White House see us... especially not the President.  We can't go down there."  

Squinting past him down the hall, Donna tried to get a look at the offending group of agents in dark suits. "They are a bit more formally attired than we are," she admitted, giggling. "But maybe we know one of the agents and they can tell us where the President is, so he doesn't see YOU in this disgraceful condition."  Raising her hands to his chest, she pulled and tugged on his wrinkled, wet, also see-through shirt, trying to straighten it into something suitable.  It was a lost cause. 

"I don't think that's a good-" 

"Maybe Dave's down there.  I bet Dave will let me up," she interrupted thoughtfully. 

"Dave, sure."  Josh nodded before immediately adding, "Say, Donna, who's Dave?" 

"You know Dave.  The really tall... really good-looking one... I think he's from South Dakota. Blonde, blue eyes. He's the one that likes me."  Josh was frowning and shaking his head; he knew nothing of the sort.  "I bet he's down there, I saw him on the plane." Once again she started towards them, and Josh grabbed her for a second time. 

"No." His voice was firm. There was no way in hell Dakota Dave or anyone else was seeing her in her present condition. "No Dave, no Secret Service."  He glanced back and caught sight of someone else.  "Wait, maybe there is someone we can ask what's going on or how long they are going to be.  Do you have your cell phone?" 

"Josh, look at me."  She held out her arms and turned, inviting inspection.  Josh worked very hard to keep his breathing steady, because hyperventilating was not out of the question. 

"I'm looking," he grunted.  For someone wearing wet clothes, he was suddenly very hot. 

"Do you see any place where I could carry a phone?" 

No... no he did not.  "A purse?"  

"I didn't bring a purse.  You were paying, remember?  I just have my room key and ID and I hid those in my bra." She reached her hand into the front pocket of his khakis, and he froze at her action.  "Would this work?"  She smiled smugly as she pulled out his phone.  "It's only a little wet." 

Josh grabbed it and started dialing.  He glanced back at Donna as it rang and then came to attention, bringing the receiver to his mouth.  "Hey, it's Josh.  Look to the right."  He waved his hand out from behind the pillar.  "Do you see that?  Good, could you come down for a second?  Thanks."  Josh shut his phone and cautiously placed it back in his damp pocket. 

A man headed down the hall quickly towards their encampment.  Josh straightened up and tried to look as normal as possible.  Which still wasn't very normal, considering their rain- and ocean-drenched appearance. 

"Here..." Josh grabbed Donna's hand and pulled her behind him, trying to shield her as much as possible from outside view.  "In that wet dress you're practically X-rated. Stand behind me."  She obeyed, but then slid her hands around his waist and propped her chin on his shoulder.  

"Donna!"  He whined, trying to get her to help keep up a professional, above-board appearance.  However, it was several shots of Captain Morgan too late for that. 

Charlie's eyes went wide as he walked up and saw their weathered, and rather cozy, condition.  

Josh grimaced sheepishly.  "We got caught in the, um, rain, and are trying to get upstairs without creating an international incident..." He nodded with his head to where the Secret Service agents were congregated. "What's going on?" 

"Hi, Charlie!"  Donna smiled brightly and waved at him with one of the hands that was still linked around Josh's waist.  "Josh says I'm X-rated, so I have to stay back here," she explained as Josh cringed. 

"Hi, Donna.  They've shut down the elevators.  The President should be here any minute."  Charlie just shook his head, trying to smother a laugh.  After sitting next to them at dinner all evening, finding them like this wasn't really surprising, but it was still rather amusing. 

"Do you know... are there other elevators? The further away, the better?"  Josh asked hopefully. 

"I don't think so. Why don't you just take the stairs?" He pointed to a doorway about five feet across from where they'd been standing. 

"Oh..."  Josh knit his eyebrows together in deliberation and turned his head slightly towards where Donna's chin still rested on his shoulder. "Donna, why didn't we take the stairs?" 

"Because you're a big baby and your room is on the 14th floor," Donna replied, giving Charlie a what-can-you-do-shrug from behind Josh. 

"Right."  He turned back to Charlie. "I'm a big baby and my room is on the 14th floor." 

"I'm thinking you should just suck it up."  Charlie stared intently at Josh's pants a moment before asking incredulously, "Is that sand all over your pants?"  

With as much dignity as he could muster, Josh answered, "Could be. This is Florida, after all.  The damn state is pretty much surrounded by the stuff." 

"Whatever."  Charlie rolled his eyes.  "I swear, I shouldn't have left any of you alone tonight." 

Donna piped up from behind Josh, "Why, did you see anyone else come back?" 

"Yeah."  He furrowed his brow.  "I just saw Carol and Will in the hotel bar. Carol was trying to bribe the piano guy with a kiss into playing _She's Like the Wind."_

"Well, at least we're not doing anything embarrassing like that," Josh replied with more than a touch of arrogance. 

"Yeah. That's way more embarrassing than being caught by the President looking like rejects from an MTV-sponsored wet T-shirt contest." 

"We haven't been caught by the President."  

"Yet... but it's not too late."  He glanced back and came to attention.  "He's here.  Gotta go."  Charlie took off back towards the elevators, leaving the two of them standing where he'd found them. 

"Stairs?"  Josh questioned, turning back to Donna. 

She nodded her assent.  Josh looked appraisingly towards the elevator and then, pulling Donna with him, dashed across the hall. 

As soon as they entered the stairwell they were ordered to identify themselves and Josh complied without hesitation.  "Josh Lyman, Donnatella Moss." 

A man stepped out of the shadows of the stairwell. "Mr. Lyman and Ms. Moss."  If he was surprised or curious about their messy, wet appearance, he didn't show it.  "May I ask where you're going?" 

"The elevators are shut down, so we we're going to take the stairs."  

"Eagle is on the move, but you two can go ahead and go up." 

"Thanks, Dave."  Donna grinned at him. 

"Good evening, Ma'am." 

Once they hit the second floor, Josh couldn't hold it in anymore. Trying unsuccessfully to keep his voice even, he asked, "So that's Dave?" 

"Yes."  

"How do you know Dave again?" 

"I know lots of Secret Service agents.  I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, Mr. Lyman, but I happen to work in the White House."  She bumped into him playfully as they continued to climb. 

"I had heard that.  But how do you know this one?  You said he likes you.  How do you know he likes you?  And how do you know he's from South Dakota?" 

"Oh, he asked me out one or three times." 

"What?" Josh squeaked. 

"Why do you sound so surprised?  Many men find me attractive, Josh." 

"I know."  He sighed. 

"Lots of guys ask me out." 

"I know."  He managed to respond through gritted teeth. 

"I'm desirable." 

"Believe me, I know."  This time his voice was more than a tad breathless.  It was hard to tell if it was from climbing the stairs or from the sentiment. 

As they exited the stairwell, Donna wobbled a little bit and Josh reached out to steady her.  When they reached the doorway, Josh turned his head away as she pulled her dress away from her body, looking for the card key.  Even with his head turned, he could tell what she was doing, and once again he could feel his pants begin to tighten.  This wasn't a good idea. They shouldn't be alone.  In a hotel room.  It was asking for trouble.  He should turn around right now and hike the extra floors to his own room.  But he didn't make a move to leave.  Finally finding the key, she began to open the door. She was halfway through it before she stopped and turned on him. 

"Hey." 

"What?" 

"This is my room." 

"I know." 

"What are you doing at my room?" 

"Waiting until I can take the elevator the extra ten floors."  Waiting 15 minutes couldn't hurt anything, could it?  Ten floors was a long way up, and he could resist temptation. No, seriously... he could. 

"It'll be a good workout for you; it'll make you strong."  She smiled slyly at him, obviously planning to make him earn it. 

"I'm tired and I'm sopping wet."  He turned the brown puppy dog eyes on her and she instantly acquiesced.  She was always useless against the brown puppy dog eyes, and tonight was no exception.  Turning, she entered and he followed her dutifully, until she stopped him with her hand again just as they were inside the door. 

"What?" 

"You're sopping wet. You just said so yourself.  Don't drip on anything; this is a nice room." 

"It's a hotel room. What are you worried about... it's someone else's job to clean it." 

"That's not a very nice attitude... stay there."  Frowning, she motioned to the entry way.  "Take off your clothes."  

"What!?" 

"Your clothes.  Take them off.  So you don't drip." 

"But..." 

"Didn't you just say..." She put her hand on the wall to stop the slight swaying of the room. "That you're uncomfortable in wet pants?" 

"Yes, but-" 

"Take 'em off." 

Deciding it was a losing battle, and desperately wanting the extremely uncomfortable garments off of him, he began to comply.  Certainly at this point it wouldn't matter if he was in or out of his clothes, would it?  Looking down, he started fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.  She was watching him intently.  

When he glanced up from his shirt and noticed she was blatantly staring, he stopped and smirked. "What?  Is this some sort of show for you?" 

"Huh?"  She ripped her eyes away from his mostly open shirt, which was hard because she really wanted to see his chest. 

"Part of your plan to torture me... before you murder me." 

"I was kidding about the murder."  She looked back at his chest. "Mostly kidding anyway."  She took a step forward and began to work on the remaining buttons of his shirt.  

Josh stood bolted to the spot, his mind spinning in a half-dozen different directions at once. His eyes were riveted to her fingers as they deftly finished the job he'd started. What was happening?  Was this what he thought?  Did she want him as a much as he wanted her?  He needed to leave.  It was wrong for it to happen like this.  However, once again he didn't move. 

When she finished, she bunched the sides of the shirt in each fist and looked into his eyes, before tugging him a little closer to her.  Now they were almost flush up against one another. 

"You didn't answer my question about the torture?"  Somehow he managed to choke out the question. 

"What torture?" 

"What torture?" He cleared his throat; he'd been hoping for a bit more potency and a little less frog in his voice.  "You've been torturing me all day.  That's what torture." 

"I know nothing of torturing you."  Her voice was husky and, Josh thought, sexy as hell. 

"The little red bikini," he ground out.  "Since the moment I saw you in that little red bikini down by the pool, all I've been able to think about is you.  And the bikini..."  He paused to swallow hard and force himself to breath.  "That was the torture... you in the bikini, you out of the bikini..." 

She tugged him even closer, her still-saturated dress rubbing against his naked chest.  Donna shivered at their proximity and at the feel of her breasts brushing against him tantalizingly. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to torture you."  Her whisper was so close that he could feel the heat of her breath against his lips.  "Not that you don't deserve to be tortured by me."  She nudged him with her nose. 

Josh was fighting an internal battle.  He knew he should back away, break the moment.  She'd been drinking; she might not know what she was doing.  He settled for staying put and making a glib remark.  "I knew you were tortur-" 

She moved almost imperceptibly forward and before he was fully aware of what was happening, she had interrupted him in the most pleasant way possible.  Her lips were warm and soft and most of all, inviting.  It took Josh only a second before he responded to her in kind. They pressed their lips together in slow, languid, sensuous kisses that set every nerve ending in his body jangling. He slid his hands down her upper arms and gripped her waist, bringing her even closer to him.  

Donna moaned into his mouth.  She was kissing Josh.  She was kissing Josh and he was kissing her back.  It was good... really, incredibly, amazingly good.  Even though the fabric clinging to her body was cold and wet, his lips against hers made it feel as if she was melting from the inside out.  She ran her hands up and into his damp hair, clutching at the locks at the back of his neck. The skin of his neck was warm and soft against her wrists and she rubbed slow circles with her fingers in his hair. He felt so good and she had wanted this for so long.  His tongue was tracing her lips and she readily granted him access to her mouth. The movement of their lips slowed as their tongues danced lightly together. Her desire built as they licked, nipped and sucked on one another.  She reached back between them and tugged at the sides of his shirt, trying and failing to push it off his shoulders.  She settled for splaying her fingers across his chest. 

The room was spinning slightly and she clung to him as his lips found her neck.  He was sucking on a very sensitive spot at the base of her throat and she moaned his name.  His lips were like magic.  He could bottle this and sell it at the next DNC fundraiser; they'd raise so much money the Republicans would never win another election.  Wait, what was she thinking?  Nobody was allowed to be kissed by Josh!  Ever!  Except her. She murmured, "Promise me you won't make out with any Republicans, even if they pay you."  

"Huh?"  Panting, he reluctantly tore his lips from her soft skin.  It only took a second for reality to come crashing around him.  She was making no sense; he knew what he had to do.  He took an unwilling step away from her.  "We can't."  

"What?"  There was hurt in her eyes. 

"We can't do this."  It broke his heart to say it.  It was all that he wanted in the world, but he couldn't let his passion get the best of him. 

"Why?" She crinkled her brow and pouted in disappointment. 

"Because you've been drinking." 

"So have you." 

"Not as much as you have.  I can't... we can't. As much as I want this, I can't take advantage of you.  I won't."  His voice was firm, but his eyes were sad and still filled with passion. 

She studied him for a moment, her mouth slightly open, before bursting out laughing. 

It took him several seconds to recover before he could demand, "Why are you laughing?" 

She brought her hand up to cup his cheek.  "You are so cute."  With her other hand, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him further into the room. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Taking you to bed." 

"But I just said-" 

"I heard what you just said.  And I disagree." 

"You disagree that you're drunk?  You were just babbling about me whoring myself to Republicans..." 

"Yes...no... well, drunk is neither here nor there.  I just disagree that it matters if we've been drinking or not."  Now they were standing in front of the bed.  The insanely-inviting, king-size bed.  It had been turned down and the bedspread removed, so it was all fluffy down pillows and soft white sheets.  

She dropped his hand and stepped before him, tugging his damp shirt off his shoulders and down his arms.  "Wait here."  She headed towards the bathroom with the shirt.  She turned back before imploring, "Promise you won't leave?" 

"I'm standing here in wet pants and no shirt while our boss, the President, is on the move in the hotel. Where would I go?"  He should leave.  He could only hold out for so long and he knew it.  Would it really be so bad to be caught wet and shirtless in the hotel?  Probably.  

"Good point," she agreed from the bathroom, before calling out, "lose the pants." 

He sighed and rubbed his eyes roughly.  "Donna, I don't-" 

"Lose 'em!"  Her voice was loud and demanding.  She was not inviting opposition. 

He obliged, if only because they'd gotten supremely uncomfortable and quite frankly, he was worried about chafing.  What?  He had the sensitive skin of a redhead.  Besides, when he made the trek to his own room, he needed to find something else to wear, anyway. 

When she exited the bathroom several minutes later, Josh sucked in a breath and refused to let it go.  Maybe he'd underestimated her worthiness as an opponent. "What in heaven's name are you wearing?" 

"I thought you'd recognize it." 

"I... uh... yeah... but."  Coherent thought deserted him once again.  "Why?"  

Her smile was beguiling. "Well, you can't leave until your clothes are dry and I don't want you to feel self-conscious sitting in just your boxers... so I changed." 

"To make me feel more comfortable?" 

"Yes. Being a good hostess is always about making your guest-" She paused for a beat. "Feel at home.  Do you feel at home?" 

He was standing in her hotel room, naked save for his damp boxer shorts, the bulge there so hard it was almost painful, the memory of her lips on his still fresh, and his desire for her overpowering.  But despite all those things, he did, indeed, feel at home.  So at home, he was pretty sure he never wanted to leave.  Damn her little red bikini!  It was like kryptonite to him. 

"You're a good hostess." It was mostly a grunt that escaped his lips.  Willing himself to stay in control, he let his eyes roam up and down her once again. "Even though you like to torture your guests." 

Boldly, she walked up to him and ran her hand down his arms, reveling in the feel of his naked flesh under her palms.  "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?" She asked before adding helpfully, "I hung up your shirt."  

"Uh... thanks..." He refused to look down to his boxers; he was pretty sure there was something she could do.  No!  He had to be strong.  Strong enough for both of them. 

"So you can't leave for awhile anyway. How do you want to pass the time?"  She asked with feigned innocence. 

He grunted something indecipherable.  

"I was thinking we could play cards." 

"Play cards?"  The feel of her hands migrating up and down his chest did nothing to mitigate his excitement or enhance his concentration. 

"Sure.  Or we could eat something.  They have 24-hour room service.  You know food can sober a person up... or so I've heard."  She looked at him coyly. 

Food!  Food could be the answer.  "Sure, we could eat."  Jumping at the opportunity, he turned towards the mini-bar. "But why don't we see what's in here." 

She watched him for a second before objecting.  "Wait!" 

"What?" 

"We shouldn't eat any of that.  The stuff in there cost a fortune." 

He smirked knowingly at her.  "Did you use my credit card for your incidentals?" 

She blushed before nodding. 

"Then what are you worried about?" 

"Your Visa..."  She swallowed; her mouth was dry. Perhaps something to re-hydrate was a good idea. "...bill." 

"I'm not." 

"Really?"  She questioned. 

"Nope." 

"Okay."  Eagerly, she joined him in front of the cabinet. 

He started going through the contents.  "What do you want? Oreos, M&M's, pretzels, potato chips, Powerbar, a packet with Advil, Alka-Seltzer and a condom?"  Josh asked, looking over the selection. 

"Hmmm..."  She took her task of selecting an alcohol-absorbing snack seriously.  "Oreos are yummy, but I actually think the pretzels would be best for filling my tummy."  She patted her belly. 

Josh was mesmerized by the way her hand lightly touched her bare stomach.  He noticed the birthmark on her hip again and remembered how he'd wanted to study it more closely when they were at the pool earlier.  A Monarch butterfly, definitely.  Or perhaps a bust of George Washington... 

Grabbing the pretzels, the deck of cards, sodas and the M&M's for good measure, she flopped onto the bed and adjusted the king-size pillows behind her back.  Josh just stared at her, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.  The image as presented was almost too much for him to handle; Donna lounging on the bed, looking delicious in the little red bikini.  In all the hours he'd been fantasizing about her, he found that his mind hadn't exaggerated how striking she was in it. 

After shuffling the cards, she started to deal. "Are you going to stand there looking like a conservative religious leader caught at a Gay Pride Parade?  Or are you going to play cards?"  She patted the bed in invitation.  When she was done, she took a sip of her 7-Up before tearing open the M&Ms.  She held the bag towards him as she popped several in her mouth. 

Slowly, he walked to the opposite side of the big bed and sat on the edge. He took an M&M. "What are we playing?" 

"Strip Go Fish." 

"Donna..." He whined. 

"What?"  

"You're not playing fair." 

"What do you mean?"  She asked artlessly. 

"The bikini... strip Go Fish... the bed..." 

"You're right, I'm not playing fair."  She nodded her head in acknowledgment. 

"Why?" 

"Because we like each other.  I know you want me, Joshua. And I want you.  Yes, maybe we're doing this because we drank tonight.  And maybe we're doing it because it's inevitable. Either way..."  She looked up at him boldly, "I'm not going to regret it and I'm sick of waiting. So what's it gonna be, Joshua?  It's now or never. Pick." 


	7. Welcome to Miami 7

 

**Welcome to Miami**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna, CJ, Danny, Carol, Will, Charlie  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Humor, Romance  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** A free night in Miami, repressed white house staffers and cocktails.  
**Author's Note:** This is set at an indeterminate time during the fifth season. There is a bit of that season five assiness surrounding Josh and Donna in this one; however, in this story, none of the end of season events (Gaza) has taken place. Written at Kim's request, for her Birthday. Thanks for being a fantastic beta! 

* * *

"Because we like each other.  I know you want me, Joshua. And I want you.  Yes, maybe we're doing this because we drank tonight.  And maybe we're doing it because it's inevitable. Either way..."  She looked up at him boldly, "I'm not going to regret it and I'm sick of waiting. So, what's it gonna be, Joshua?  It's now or never. Pick." 

She made very reasonable arguments for a drunk person; certainly that should be taken into consideration? Every argument, every reason not to do it, every one of his good intentions, went hurling out the window at warp speed.   He hesitated for only a second before pouncing on the bed.  She giggled until their lips found one another and their limbs intertwined in an erotic tangle.  As they rolled from one end of the bed to the other, he felt the playing cards crinkle underneath them. 

Breathless, he moved his lips from hers and pulled far enough back to whisper, "By the way, in case you didn't notice, I pick now."  

She giggled and pulled him back down to her mouth.  Her heart was racing and she felt flush everywhere.  His arousal, hard and insistent, pushed into her where their hips met, and she felt tension pool in her abdomen. 

"Ow!" 

"What?"  Josh peered down at her with concern as he immediately leaned away from her and removed his weight from her body.  

Donna furrowed her brow as she reached behind her back, looking for the cause of her discomfort.  Breaking into a smile, she pulled the bag of M&Ms out from under her and held them out triumphantly. "Just the M&Ms trying to get in on the action.  Who knew they could be so amorous?" 

Josh heaved a visible sigh of relief, reassured that he wasn't the one that had caused her to cry out in pain.  "Well, they are peanut," he reasoned as he took them from her and placed them on the nightstand. "Peanuts can be horny little suckers."  

She giggled which made him smile, as he once again allowed his body to sink into hers, marveling at how well they fit together.  He was about to capture her lips in another kiss, when he was sidetracked once again by the bikini. Enraptured, he began to finger the halter that circled her neck.  He was spellbound by the ever-so-slight difference in skin tone underneath the fabric; the pink flush of her exposed skin contrasted sweetly with the virgin flesh that was milky white and untouched by the sun.  Leaning down, he gently moved the strap and began to tease the pale skin with his tongue.  Between kisses and licks, he murmured, "I didn't notice before... you got a little sun today." 

"A little," she conceded as she pushed her shoulder back into the bed to better accommodate his persistent mouth.  She brought her hands to his back and concentrated on gently kneading the muscles there, loving the way they contracted and relaxed under her fingers as he moved over her. 

"It's sexy."  It came out as a growl. 

"Well, then, aren't you glad my boss finally quit bothering me and I was able to have an hour of peace and quiet this afternoon by the pool?"  

"I'm sure your boss was only..." He paused to trail kisses up her neck. "...bothering you because he legitimately..." Now he was swirling his tongue in circles underneath her jaw, "...needed your assistance.  However, I'm sure ..." When he reached her ear he took a moment to gently suck on the lobe, "... he's thrilled you were finally able to relax tonight..." Once again he interrupted himself to press several kisses to her ear, "...and if there's anything he can do to help further relax you-" 

Just as he was about to move back to her mouth again, she hooked one leg around his for leverage and pushed forward.  In one swift motion, she had rolled them over and was now on top.  "You're talking too much; apparently you're the one who needs relaxing..." Stunned silent by their quick change of position, Josh just laid back and watched as she positioned herself above him. 

From her now-dominant vantage point, she began to track wet kisses down his neck.  As her lips made her way across his chest, her hands gripped his shoulders. She heard him moan her name aloud when she swirled her tongue across his nipple.  

"Queen of Hearts stuck to your belly," she informed him before peeling the playing card off of his skin and tossing it to the floor.  She continued dusting his chest with small butterfly kisses. 

"Does that mean you have to go fish?" he joked lamely, even as her warm tongue lapped over his abdomen and he tangled his hands in her hair.  Quivers of excitement shot straight through him and ended in his groin.   

Donna lifted her head from his belly long enough to announce, "You taste salty," before continuing her downward progress. Josh felt himself tighten even more.  Not only was she nibbling on his waist, Donna was talking about how he tasted; that was not exactly relaxing... but it was sexy. 

Well, it was sexy right up until she pulled away again, this time making a sour face that would have been comical if he hadn't been so deeply aroused. 

"What?"  Josh asked with slight trepidation.  She stuck her tongue out like a cat several times, running it against her teeth as if to get rid of something acutely unpleasant in her mouth. 

"Seriously, what's wrong?" 

"Sand.  I just licked sand off of you." 

Again, the fact that she was talking about licking anything off of him distracted him entirely from the point at hand. 

She sat up, apparently not quite as bothered as he was by the fact that her tongue was no longer laving his stomach, and her downward progress had been stunted. "You should rinse off.  I don't like sand in my mouth." 

He sat partway up and before she knew what was happening, he'd flipped her onto her back and buried his face in her stomach.  She felt his tongue drag a wide path across her flat tummy before he leaned over her and smiled. "You taste like sand, too.  You should rinse off." 

"You're making that up. There is no sand on me," she replied haughtily. 

"Oh, there's sand, all right.  Head to toe, you're covered with it.  You're practically made of sand.  In fact, from here on out, I'm gonna call you Sandy." 

She shook her head with sudden determination.  "No.  You can't call me Sandy.  Sandys are bimbos, or they work in the porn industry, or they are... Republican!  I won't answer to the name of a sex-trade working, Republican bimbo.  Don't call me Sandy." 

Josh was grinning devilishly.  "Well, then your only option is to get in the shower with me to rinse off." 

Nodding solemnly, she stood, and without any fanfare, disappeared into the bathroom. It took Josh only seconds to realize that he'd just maneuvered himself into a shower with Donna.  And several more to scramble off the bed and follow her. 

When he entered the expansive bathroom he found Donna, still in the red bikini, bent over the tub, adjusting the water temperature.  Steam was already rising off of the hot water as it pounded out of the shower onto the speckled gray porcelain of the large oval tub.  He didn't know which was more appealing, Donna bending over in the bikini, or the hot shower.  Yes, he did. It was a no-brainer.  But it didn't matter, because today was apparently his lucky day and he was going to get both. 

When she was satisfied, she turned to face him, gaping at her.  Resting her hands on her hips, she surveyed him.  "Take 'em off," she finally said before pointing to his boxers.  

"What about you?"  He shifted slightly under her careful scrutiny. 

Taking several steps in his direction, she stopped right in front of him.  Reaching forward, she ran her hands across the well-defined muscles of his broad chest, feeling the soft hair under her palms.  

For Josh, it felt like tiny lightning strikes everywhere she touched. The way his body responded to her was nothing short of amazing to him. When her hand brushed his nipple, he felt himself suck in air, holding it until she moved around to caress his slightly less sensitive back.  

She continued to move and explore. Finally she brushed her palms down along his sides until she was playing with the elastic waist of his boxers.  Carefully, she flipped the band over his erection and let the shorts slide down his legs. 

"Wow."  Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide as she allowed her gaze to roam freely over his naked form. 

A cocky grin spread over his formerly surprised and dazed expression.  "Impressive, yeah?" 

She looked him in the eye with a mischievous glint. "That's one word." 

"What's another word?" His cockiness didn't fade. 

"Mmm... adequate." 

"Huh?"  Now his grin faded slightly, but before he could say anything or, you know, defend his manhood, she had taken two long strides away from him and leapt into the shower.  The curtain still partially open, he watched her relax under the warm shower spray.  The water was hitting her chest and neck as she stood in the expansive tub.  She was still wearing her bikini and looked absolutely delectable.  He should do something.  But he was frozen in place, standing buck-naked, watching his assistant writhe under the steaming spray.  He'd never wanted anyone more.  

She turned to him.  "Just gonna stand there?" 

That was all the invitation that was necessary.  

He stepped in and she turned her back to the spray.  Within seconds, their lips met and they melted into one another in a heated rush. 

There was nothing tentative about this kiss. Lips met lips in a passion that was so long overdue, one might have been surprised that not only had it lived on, never extinguished by years of misdirection, denial and waiting, but its force had grown brighter and even more intense with the years.  Tongues tangled frantically, and she reveled in the way it felt, as if he were trying to drink her in. 

The heightened cadence of her heartbeat could be felt at every pulse point.  Her neck, temple, wrist and chest; she could feel her blood frantically rushing to keep up with the ever-increasing thrill of their union.  His hands roamed everywhere he could touch, as if they had been set free on a task they'd been waiting a lifetime for. One slid across her face to cup her neck and pull her close while one rested on her waist, tracing her ribs and shamelessly fingering her silky wet skin.  She couldn't remember ever feeling like this while kissing someone.  And she was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she'd been drinking.  After several minutes, Josh closed his lips against hers and slowed the kisses down. They shifted, turning in the tub, so that now Josh's back was to the hot spray of the shower.  The water coursed down his body, warming him and rinsing him off at the same time. Sucking on her lower lip, she moaned against him, as he manipulated the tiny scrap of fabric that covered her breast.  

"You're still wearing the bikini..." he mumbled against her cheek as he made his way to suck on her earlobe. 

"Uh-huh."  She could concentrate only on the movement of his lips and his hard, straining member pressing between their bodies into her stomach. 

"We're in the shower.  Why are you still wearing your bikini?"  His hot breath on her ear, in the already-humid shower, made her shiver.  Now he was working on a spot right under her ear that almost turned her legs to jelly, sending her crashing to the floor.  She tightened her grip around his neck to steady herself, lolling her head to one side in order to give him the best possible access. 

When he finally left the sensitive area under her ear, now kissing his way down her jaw, she was finally able to address the issue at hand.  "Because you haven't taken it off of me yet."   

He lifted his lips from her ear.  That was an excellent point. "May I?"  

She ran her hands down his back until they were making slow circles on his lower back, gently pressing his hips closer and more firmly to her own.  He moaned her name and she just wiggled her eyebrows suggestively in answer. 

Taking that as a yes, his hands found the clasp at the back of her neck.  It blew his mind that just six hours ago, he'd been having this exact same fantasy.  But it had been only that... a fantasy, something that was imagined but never going to happen.  He wasn't that lucky.  Yet here he was, exactly that lucky.  Part of him couldn't be sure that this wasn't all a dream. 

Slowly, he released the clasp and let the fabric fall away.  He found the other clasp at her back, and in seconds, she was bare to his view from the waist up.  He backed up even further under the hot deluge of the shower, and the water coursed over them both. 

Bending slightly, he rained kisses on one breast and then the other, his insistent mouth mingling with the hot water from the shower.  She whimpered with pleasure and her back arched as her hands wrapped in his hair, urging him more insistently to the point.  Ripples of pleasure sizzled from each breast right to her center.  After long, erotically-charged minutes of laving and sucking and licking, she reached down and pushed her bikini bottoms over her hips and wiggled until they fell with a flop to the bathtub floor.  Josh stopped his ministrations to her breasts and, chuckling, rose so that he was once again at eye level with her. 

"I thought that was my job."  He glanced down, which was a mistake, because the view of a fully-naked Donna with water running down her every curve and plane was almost enough to send him over the edge. 

"You weren't doing your job fast enough."  Her voice was low and slightly breathless.  Their lips met once again.  Now he was pressed firmly up against her, and they both moaned at the proximity of their newly naked... parts.  She lifted her mouth from his long enough to whisper, "Besides, I assist you... that was me assisting you." 

"Well, you're very good at it." 

"How about this?"  She turned them again, and then, bringing her hands up to his shoulder, she pressed firmly down.  "Sit."  It was an order, not a request. 

Speechlessly, he obeyed, the water still hitting the porcelain of the tub and splashing around them.  Facing him, she sank to her knees - one on either side of his legs. She positioned herself over his lap. 

"Wait!"  While he no longer feared that she was too drunk to know what they were doing, someone had to think of the details. 

"What?"  Her voice was husky and impatient. 

"Should we... you know... in here? What about protection?" 

She smiled brightly and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.  "On the pill, been tested." 

He sighed with relief at her admission.  At this point, it would have been really hard to stop.  He wrapped his arms around her in a brief hug.  "Me, too," he said into her chest. 

"Really?  You're on the pill?" Donna giggled loudly, her hands wrapped in his hair. 

"No."  He let go so that he could look up at her. "The other." 

"Good."  This time his hands found her bottom.  He squeezed gently and then guided her forward, towards him. 

Donna closed her eyes and moaned as she slowly sank down onto him.  Once again, Josh found one of her breasts with his mouth, showering it with attention. 

As she felt herself open and envelope him, she sighed at the intimacy of it.  It was a moment, long dreamt about, long fantasized about, come to life.  She sat still for a moment, fully connected to him, and their eyes met.  They stared at one another for several emotion-filled moments before he brought his hands up to her neck and pulled her down for a tender, meaningful kiss. 

It was a kiss that he hoped communicated to her all that he was feeling, and she responded in kind. Confident that they were on the same page, he urged her up, and together they began to move.  

The first few strokes were slow, but as they picked up speed, she arched her back and tossed her head back.  When she looked back down and met his eyes, the realization fully hit her. Her mind finally clear, she realized that this was Josh. She was making love with Josh. The man she loved, had loved, for years. The realization unexpectedly pushed her over the edge, and not long after they'd started, she came apart.  

He watched her face in awe as she exploded around him.  He held her tight.  After the tremors subsided, they began to move again, and it only took another minute for him to join her.  

Afterward, they sat clinging to one another in the tub, still connected. Josh's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, while Donna's head rested on his shoulder.  He traced comforting circles up and down her back while she pressed soft kisses into his neck, the water still raining down on them.  It wasn't until they'd sat like that for several long minutes that she started laughing. 

"What?"  He leaned back. 

"That was fast." 

He didn't know whether to be alarmed or to laugh with her. 

"Too fast?" he questioned as she sat up.  She shook her head.  "No, fast, but good." 

He laughed and squeezed her.  "Yeah," he agreed before questioning tentatively, "very good?" 

She leaned down and captured his lips before reassuring him, "Very great." 

Running his hands all the way up to her face, he cupped her cheeks.  He kissed her tenderly before nodding his head towards the door and asking, "You wanna dry off and maybe see if we can do it slower and even better?" 

She pretended to think about it for a minute.  "How about we see if we can do it slower and outstanding?" 

"Yeah," he nodded eagerly, "let's do that." 

*** 

It was the insistent ringing of the telephone that woke Donna.  She rolled to her left in order to get closer to the sound, because the most important thing in her life at that moment was to make the hideous intrusion stop. But when she did, she ran smack into something.  A man.  A naked man.  To be more precise, a naked Josh.  That was interesting.  In the back of her mind, she realized this was something that didn't happen every day, and she knew she should have lots of questions, but she couldn't do anything until she stopped the ringing.  She pushed herself up and climbed across his chest.  His naked chest.  She glanced down, noting with interest that her chest was naked as well.  Still, she pressed on.  Propped up by his torso, she was finally able to reach the offending object. 

"Hello?"  Her voice was hoarse and slightly feeble. 

"Donna? Is that you?"  Margaret did not have the same problem; her voice was as strong and efficient as ever.  Even if it was 6am. 

"Yeah." It was the only response she was able to marshal.  She could feel the soft hair of his chest tickle her bare breasts.  Despite her pounding head and her dry throat, she felt a zing of arousal hit her most intimate spot.  They were in bed. Together.  With a whole lot of nakedness going on.  How exactly did that happen? The throbbing in her head was probably clue one.  Drinking, lots of it.  Then the beach, the rain...  

"Are you okay?" 

"Uh-huh." The truth was that her head felt as if someone had been using it as a basketball, and her stomach was the court. 

"Did I wake you?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"Sorry to call so early, but we have some updated numbers that Josh'll need for his first meeting. So did you have a good night off?  What did you do?  Leo even let me go early.  I had the greatest time, even though I would have preferred to be in Miami with you guys.  Suzie from Political Affairs and Dale from Human Resources took me to this Lord of the Rings role-playing party.   I know that sounds a bit kooky, but it was really..." 

Suddenly Donna felt herself move and shift.  She quickly realized that she hadn't moved, but something underneath her was evidently stirring.  Twisting her head, she found a very sleepy Josh peering back at her.  She couldn't fully read his expression. Turning away from him she realized that Margaret was still talking to her and that she might need to concentrate in order to respond. "...so I said not for a thousand dollars and all the gluten-free muffins in the land." 

Donna heaved a sigh of relief when she realized Margaret had just been babbling about her activities the prior evening and she hadn't tuned out anything related to, you know, the running of the government.  Which was good, because it was becoming more and more difficult to concentrate as she became more awake and more acutely aware of the whole lying-across-Josh-naked thing.  At the same time that she realized that Margaret had stopped talking, she felt Josh's hand come up and rest on her back.  That did nothing for her powers of concentration or conversation; however, Donna was a professional and thus knew that some sort of response was in order.  "Oh, sounds great." 

"Are you okay?"  Margaret sounded more amused than concerned. 

"Fine," Donna choked out.  Now Josh was rubbing her back, and it was making her not 'fine'. On a whole other level.  But not a bad level. 

"You don't sound fine." 

"I might have drank too much last night." 

"Ohhh."  Donna could almost see Margaret nodding her head in understanding on the other end of the line.  "Were you with Carol?  I called her a few minutes ago and she swore at me before hanging up. Must have been some night all the way around. Well, I'll let you go.  I've e-mailed all the updated info you guys will need." 

"Great."  It came out as a grunt. 

"Say, do you know where Josh is?" 

That got Donna's attention.  Her head snapped towards the head of the bed.  She found him staring at her. She couldn't be positive in the still-dark room, but he might have been wearing a very amused, self-satisfied expression.  "No, I don't know where he is.  Why... are you looking for Josh?"  Now his eyes went wide. 

"Leo just wanted me to give him a heads-up on these changes, but he's not answering his cell phone or the phone in his room." 

"I'm sure he's just in the shower or even still sleeping, but I'll make sure he has the new info."  Donna carefully kept her eyes straight ahead as she finished up the phone call with Margaret.  Once she'd said goodbye, she clumsily returned the receiver to its cradle and then, drained from the exertion of the phone call, flopped her head down on his chest.  

Donna felt the slight vibration of his chest under her cheek as he chuckled.  "'Morning."  

She flipped her head so that it was still resting on his chest, but now she was facing towards him instead of away.  "Morning." 

"How are you feeling?"  His voice was a tad on the froggy side, but lucid. 

"Is it possible I drank too much last night?"  

He laughed.  "It's possible." 

Many, many parts of her body hurt, and she was kind of sore.  Although, she did have to admit, the way he was gently rubbing her back felt very good.  "How about you?"  

"Never better." 

She groaned against his chest.    

"Regrets?" he asked in a very un-Josh-like manner; his voice was small and sounded far away.  

She lifted her head to better meet his eyes and saw the fear and the hope that resided there. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "No... none." She paused for a second before asking, "You?" 

A smile spread quickly across his face and she matched it. "No... no regrets."  

"I'd really like to summon the energy to crawl up there and kiss you, but I think something might have died in my mouth."  She flopped her head back down on his chest. 

"I know the feeling..." He leaned up and kissed the top of her head as he asked hopefully, "I don't suppose you have an extra toothbrush?" 

"Yeah.  In my orange and white case in the bathroom." 

"You carry a spare toothbrush?"  He marveled at her preparedness for... anything. 

"Travel toothbrushes come in packs of two at the drug store," she mumbled into his chest.  "Use the pink one, mine is the blue." 

"Pink!?"  He cried, feigning indignation. 

"Yup, and shhhh.  My head..." 

Gently, he rolled her off of him and kissed the top of her head one more time before whispering, "Stay here." 

He was gone for several minutes and even though she was having trouble concentrating through the headache, she did hear the water running.  When he returned, he sat next to her on the bed.  "Sit up." 

"I can't." 

"I have magic pills that will make you feel better." 

Donna snorted and then moaned, because even snorting hurt.  Still, she was intrigued.  "Magic pills?" 

"Yes."  He nodded as she finally pushed herself to a sitting position.  Not bothering to cover her naked breasts.  

She eyed him suspiciously.  "These look like aspirin." 

"Not aspirin..."  Grinning, he handed her a glass of water. "Magic pills.  They'll make you better, faster, if you think of them as magic pills." 

That perked her up considerably, and once she'd taken the aspirin and gulped the water, she managed to get herself to the bathroom.  When she returned she found him in bed, lying on his back, watching her.  As she got back under the covers, she immediately molded herself to him, as if they'd had a hundred mornings together instead of this being the very first.  Her head came to rest between his neck and shoulder while the rest of her body draped half-on and half-off of him.  

He immediately brought his arms around her and tugged her even closer.  "Donna..." he whispered as he started to rub her back. 

"Mmmm..." She purred her response.  

"Do you remember our conversation last night?" 

Donna opened her eyes. She had no earthly idea which conversation he might be referring to, and what conversations she might be forgetting completely.  Best to fake it. "Uh-huh..." 

He took a deep breath before he continued.  "It kind of threw me for a loop when you asked me why I didn't like you anymore..." 

Oh, that conversation.  She cringed slightly as she remembered her alcohol-induced lack of guile on the beach. However, she had to admit, it all seemed to work out in her... or rather, their, favor. 

"But I just want you to know that I'm not sure it's possible for any part of me to like any part of you more." 

Despite her hangover, she felt her stomach summersault and her heart thump in her chest.  She kissed his shoulder and then maneuvered so she could see his eyes. "Me, too, Josh.  And I'll prove it to you if you just give me 15 minutes for the magic pills to work." 

He chuckled.  "I'll hold you to that."  His hand continued to sweep up and down her back. "I like this." 

"This?"  She smiled into his chest. 

"This.  Waking up with you naked, crawling all over me."  He tipped her chin so she was looking up at him. "Can we try it again tomorrow? Except at my place." 

She melted at the earnest look in his eye.  "Do I have to be hung over?"  

"Nope, just naked and crawling over me." 

"Done."  She relaxed back into him.  As they lay there, she lazily caressed his chest. Suddenly, something else occurred to her.  She pushed herself up slightly.  "Are you still going to teach me to ski when we borrow Sam's parents' cabin?" 

"Huh?"  Now it was his turn to be clueless. 

"Steamboat?  When you take me to Sam's parents' cabin... are you still going to teach me to ski?"  she repeated. 

He bit his lip.  "I don't know how to tell you this, Donna, but I might have exaggerated my prowess on a ski slope last night.  I've only skied once... in college." 

"You lied?" 

"You were hugging me, and pressing yourself up against me, and that dress, not to mention I'd been a mess since the bikini by the pool... what did you expect me to do?" 

"Okay then, are you going to pay for ski school and take the lessons with me when we borrow Sam's parents' cabin?" 

"I suppose it's the least I could do... since I lied," he agreed before flipping her onto her back and tickling her.  "But right now, your fifteen minutes are up." 

*** 

After they finished making love for the third time since midnight, Donna, feeling quite refreshed, jumped into the shower.  By herself.  They did actually need to get ready for the day, after all. 

When Josh exited the shower twenty minutes later, he found himself alone and facing a very big dilemma. Donna had left a note saying that she'd run to the business center to run off new copies of the program notes with the latest figures that Margaret had emailed her.  Josh, however, realized that he needed her to go to his room to get him clean clothes.  The clothes from the night before were in no shape to even get him up the ten floors to his room.  He waited for 15 minutes in hopes that she'd be back. Finally he realized if he was going to be ready by 8:30, he was just going to have to make a run for it in one of the hotel robes.  

But even this slight snafu couldn't faze Josh's incomparable mood.  If it had been socially acceptable for a man in his 40s to skip through the halls of a luxury hotel, clothed only in a fluffy white bathrobe, Josh would have done it.  As it was, he settled for just walking through the halls of the luxury hotel in the bathrobe... but there was definitely an extra spring in his usually-jaunty step. 

He pressed the up button on the elevator and reflected, quite fondly, on the last 15 hours or so.  They'd been a good 15 hours, tremendously good, if you wanted to get technical. 

When the elevator door opened, he was lost in thought.  He started forward, but once inside, he was shocked to find himself face to face with Danny, also attired in an identical white fluffy hotel robe.  They nodded and Josh took his place next to the other man, both staring straight ahead at the elevator doors as they closed. 

They were both silent for several long moments. 

"Forget your clothes?" Josh finally asked. 

"Wet." 

"Mine, too.  I'm... uh, up on the 14th floor." 

"Me, too." 

"Oh... wasn't CJ on the third floor?" 

"Uh-huh.  Wasn't Donna on the fourth floor?" 

Josh feigned disinterest. "I think so..." 

They both fell into silence once again as the elevator slowly moved towards their destination.  Then without saying a word, Danny raised his hand in the air and without skipping a beat, Josh slapped him a high-five. 

"It was a good night."  

"Very good night," Josh agreed. 

"Amazing night," Danny one-upped him. 

"Best night of my life." 

"Yeah."  When the doors opened, they both exited and went their separate ways down the hall.  Each man with a little extra bounce in his step. 


End file.
